Dreams Do Come True
by Retaw
Summary: Where do you go when you dream? And what's more, once you're there, how do you get back out? (Better sum. inside. OCs, but no pairings so far) CH 26: Everything starts to fall apart when Tristen attacks the group. But is it done on his free will?
1. Quick Intro Thingymabob

Title- Dreams can Come True  
  
By- Retaw (Victoria Sage Whitmore)  
  
Rating- PG-13 [ L, V ]  
  
Summery- There is an unknown Realm that no one has ever gone to and been back to tell the tale. Once in the realm, someone is born to take your place in the world and it is impossible to return. This, is the Dream Realm. Even with the help of many new friends and allies, can Caitlin, Ryou, and Yugi return from the Dream Realm to the physical world in one piece? And to make matters worse, there's a war going on, an Egyptian prophesy is taking place, and the Yami's have to take their hikari's place so the destined three don't disappear forever into the Realm of the Dreams.  
  
Star Editor- iceangle *Stevie*  
  
This is my first...'epic' kind of fic, but I don't want you to go easy on me! Be a brutal as you need to be or I will never get better! GIVE ME REASONS WHY IT ISN'T A GOOD FIC AND I WILL BE GREATFUL! Strange isn't it?  
  
Two more things, there are a bunch of other characters in this story. (and for a good reason to thankyouverymuch) and second, the whole thing starts out a little slow. All great author's stories start out slow, so be a little patient. Thankies peoples for reading! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!  
  
{ If you want to continue and see what this story is about, you might need to press that button down there that looks sorta like this [-] 'cause most computers can't read your mind! ^___^ }  
  
-*-*-*- 


	2. Caitlin, Destined Third

Author- *sniffle* THANK YOU MY READERS FOR CONTINUING! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME! ^^ *bows repeatedly*  
  
WARNING- This fic has an unavoidable boring prologue thingy that I've tried to edit out but you just...can't. There is one role that I've given to a new character that I'm going to be introducing into this story. I've tried my best to give an already existing character this role...but it doesn't work. I've tried peoples! I really tried! And I couldn't edit this character out because you need one female role to play in this story and, that's my excuse. If you leave because of it, I will be sad, but it's your loss for not reading because I had to put in a new character at the beginning. *huff* Really peoples, leave when you have a good reason! *deep breath* Now on to the fic!  
  
~*~  
  
I unpacked my things with great care out of the suitcase I had sprawled on the bed. It wasn't much, but the little things are what made me happy. The rubber band, for instance, was stretched out to more then it was supposed to and tucked away in a side pocket safely like it was a delicate glass flower. Not that a flower would fit in there anyway...  
  
I sighed, and watched the shadows play across the walls, curtsey of the vanilla candle lit on the night table. So this was what having a home, and a family again would be like. Not quite what I had hoped for. My room was a bright pink, wallpaper frilled with white lace and everything in the room fluffed up in some way. It wasn't that I despised that color, it was that I despised the color when there was SO MUCH of it! On the walls hung a single item, the one thing that cheered me up when I felt like things were hopeless, which was sadly, very often. It was a picture of my friends, pinned into an old looking letter with the name, 'Caitlin' written across it in blue letters.  
  
I smiled. It was a pretty bad picture of us all, and it was taken about three or four years ago, but I kept it anyway. How often do you come across friends for life that help you find a home? In the picture, there were four boys, and two girls. I knew the boys as Tristen Taylor, Joey Wheeler, Yugi Motou, and Ryou Bakura. The two girls in the front were one of my best friends Tea Gardener and myself. It was a long story how I met them all, and I'm not willing to tell re-play the whole thing right now, but it was a fun time.  
  
I have been homeless almost all my life. After my parents died, there wasn't anyone really to look after me but my grandfather, who didn't give a care weather I was dead or not. I don't even know if he knows I'm still alive anymore...not that it matters. My family and I got in a terrible car accident on my ninth birthday, right after I was presented with the best birthday gift a girl could ever ask for. My parents had given me a fairly small, golden amulet in the shape of a Scarab Beetle. On it's shell, there was an Egyptian looking eye.  
  
I can't remember much what happened after the accident. I remember wondering around with a bruise on my face, crying like mad, and my memories after that take place in an old abandoned antique shop that me, and a few other kids like me, lived in. I was able to figure out how to work the item out pretty quickly, and when I met my Yami we got along pretty well.  
  
Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depends on how you look at it) my amulet was picked up by a man I would grow to hate named Seto Kaiba. He wanted to put it on display in the museum until he could figure out how to work it and use it against Yugi in the duels. I was able to steal it back from him, and while on the run, I ran into Tea, Yugi, Ryou, Joey, and Tristen. Tea let me stay over at her place, and all in all, we got along pretty well. Like I said, it's a long story, but in the end I was able to keep the item without being sent to prison by that Kaiba for stealing what was rightfully mine.  
  
Because I didn't think I fit in right, I tried moving to America with the money I took from Kaiba before hand. That didn't work out to well, and three years later, here I am. I've gotten into so much trouble in the past few years, I should get a medal for it.  
  
"What are you doing?" A voice asked from the direction of my bed.  
  
I jumped a little, and turned around, face to face with a male looking version of myself. He had the same red hair and blue eyes as I did, but he did look more then a little ghostly in the light. If I didn't know who he was, I would have screamed.  
  
"Reflecting." I said, returning to my unpacking duties.  
  
His face brightened, "On what?"  
  
I paused, looking at the Rubix cube in my hand and then at the Scarab Beetle Necklace looking item around my neck. "Lots of things."  
  
"Oh that really narrows it down." He said sarcastically, "Has anyone told you that you're very specific?"  
  
"Has anyone told you that you're a nuisance?" I shot back.  
  
"Yes." He answered, almost proudly, "You have. About four times today in fact."  
  
I grinned. That was, as you might be able to tell, my Yami. We all call him 'Cami' because he liked it like that. Yugi and Ryou both get Yami's that are the same sex as they are, but I had to get a boy Yami. He put up such a fit when people called him Caitlin, and he didn't like being called Yami to just anyone, so we took the best of both worlds and made Cami.  
  
Cami resided in my Millenium Amulet, the scarab beetle that had been turned into a necklace over the years so I didn't loose it. Cami was a scribe in his past life, and he always called the item an 'un-official'' millenium item, whatever that it. I don't know why, but that's how it has just always been. Being bored with what I was doing, he had already searched through my bag and found the sliding puzzle I had been working on. He snorted, and started randomly sliding pieces.  
  
"I can't believe you still carry this around." He said, "You couldn't do a puzzle if your life depended on it. Why keep it? The thing's just frustrating."  
  
I snatched it back from him and pushed it underneath my Harry Potter book. "I'm never going to get any better at it if I don't work on it."  
  
Another snort, "I don't think you'd get any better at it if you worked on that puzzle for years and years."  
  
"It took Yugi however many years to figure his puzzle out." I pointed out, "But he finally got it didn't he?"  
  
"This isn't the Millenium Puzzle we're talking about, Caitlin, it's a sliding puzzle of a duck you bought at the dollar store one day. And it isn't Yugi we're talking about either, it's YOU. Let me tell you that's a big difference my aibou."  
  
I threw a pillow at him, not that it did anything but go through his head since he was in his spirit form, "Shut up."  
  
Cami smirked. He was more a brother to me then a Yami, and for some reason, he wasn't dark at all. Heck, compared to me sometimes it seemed HE was the hikari! He was more carefree then I was, which is pretty amazing, and he did what he was told very often. I guess that's why he made such a good scribe way back when...or so he says...  
  
Destiny, fate, and future. They are an award winning tag team tag team that is entertained with torturing me. This time they've outdone themselves. I thought they finally gave me a little slack when I found a family, and played a sick game with giving me the most annoying family on the planet. They aren't the worst family in the world, just the most annoying and they always want a reason to get me in trouble for...being me. It started with the first step I took into their house, the beginning of the end I guess you'd say.  
  
I knocked gently on the door and waited for them to answer. The house was a pale pink color and had white frilly looking trim along the edges. Although I felt like I was going to puke, I disregarded it and knocked again on the door. It creaked with it opened and I saw a women who appeared to be in her early forties answer. She had soft brown hair, but accusing eyes that gave you a strange guilty feeling every time she looked at you.  
  
"Can I... help you with something?" She said, looking me over for some sort of package to deliver or something along those lines.  
  
"I- are you- you don't happen to-- Hi, I'm Caitlin, the child...erm...TEEN you adopted?" I managed to stutter. Though I wasn't proud of how I stuttered, I thought it sounded very professional. Well, mostly professional.  
  
She nodded and opened the door wider, "Come on in Caitlin. Remember to wipe your shoes, we don't want dirt in here. Caitlin... is there a last name attached to that?"  
  
"No, not really." I said, taking an awkward step into the house that was as pink and frilly as the outside.  
  
"Really? Why? Don't you remember it? I hope I didn't just agree to have an adopted child with amnesia..."  
  
"No, no, no listen Miss....mom...person I don't have amnesia! I just, don't have a last name attached to that."  
  
She looked skeptical, but let it slide with a small, 'Mm hm.' I followed her into the living room and she sat me down on the couch.  
  
"Listen Caitlin, I need to quick do some errands. It should only take a half hour or so, my biological daughter will show you to your room and you can unpack. But please, don't go outside, don't use the internet, and don't listen to music off the radio that isn't on our 'To listen' list. You'll see the list on the wall in front of the radio, can't miss it."  
  
I was kind of hoping to get to know my new mom without her leaving as soon as I came, but beggars couldn't be choosers. The garage door closed, and the head of a younger girl popped out from the hallway. She looked a great deal younger then me, maybe five or ten years, (which makes me sound old.) she had cream colored hair, and the same accusing eyes as her mother.  
  
"Is she gone?" She asked, looking around a little before relaxing.  
  
I nodded and put out my hand, "Hi, I'm your new sister, Caitlin."  
  
"Good for you." She said, immediately turning back into the hallway and leaving me alone in the room. Feeling very insulted, I followed her.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
The girl didn't look at me and instead turned on the computer, "Computer. I've got to see something on the Internet."  
  
I thought for a moment, "Didn't your mom say no Internet?"  
  
Ok, I had to admit. I was one of those people who said 'rules are meant to be broken' and all, and I'd probably end up sneaking on the internet sometime or another but I was kind of focused to create the illusion I was a responsible adult. Man, what was I setting myself up for? Responsible adult? Yea, right.  
  
"Maybe to you, but did she mention anything about me?" She answered coldly over the beeping and other strange noises that came whenever you went on the Internet.  
  
"No, I guess not."  
  
"Good. Then it's settled."  
  
Wait, settled? I wanted to give her a peace of my mind and found myself repeating 'responsible adult, responsible adult...' over and over again in my head. There was silence for a moment as the girl clicked at a few pages and read them. Responsible adult! BE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT! Gee, what exactly would a responsible adult do in this situation? Send her to her room and ground her for a few days? Yes, that sounded like a good idea...but then again, I don't really think I have the power to do that yet. Plan B. I tried to talk with her again.  
  
"So, how old are you?"  
  
"What do you care."  
  
"I care."  
  
"No you don't."  
  
"Uh...ok? Have any pets?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Favorite color?"  
  
"Don't mind."  
  
I sighed and leaned against the computer table, "Could you at LEAST grace me with your name? I mean we're going to be sisters for god goshness sake!"  
  
"Fine, if it will shut you up, my name's Jena."  
  
I grimaced, "Jena?"  
  
"Yea you got a problem with that?"  
  
Man, she sounded like she was the one older then me.  
  
"Well, kinda, you see..."  
  
"What?" She said, glaring at me from her short perch on the computer chair.  
  
"Jena sounds a lot like Jennet..."  
  
"So?"  
  
Another grimace, "I don't like the name Jennet."  
  
"Well that's not my problem is it?"  
  
I wanted to smack her, but a stupid responsible adult wouldn't do that. I feel for all those poor older sisters out there in the world, who have to deal with younger sisters that are smart butts.  
  
I finally gave up and decided to look around by myself. I was smart, I could figure out which room was mine and such. Unfortunately, when I DID find my room, I wished I hadn't. It was pinker and frillier then any room in the house, and the whole house was pink and frilly. There were obviously no men in the household. I dropped my bags and rubbed my eyes, hoping that the pinkness would wash out or something and the whole house would be in blue.  
  
"You can't escape the frilliness!" I exclaimed, landing on my laced pink bed.  
  
That was the beginning, and things only went downhill from there. I was grounded that day on our way to eat out. Apparently, they wanted to 'celebrate' my moving into the family, even though I knew that Jena didn't want to celebrate at all. It was a long car ride to the restaurant and I had secretly brought my cell-phone to play games on. I had gotten a high score on the little snake eating apples game when the phone started to ring. I knew something was wrong immediately because 'mom' shrieked and pulled over. I muffled the sound of the ring with my shirt but it didn't do much good. She turned on me and said loudly,  
  
"What are you doing with THAT song on your phone!?"  
  
I tried to act natural, in truth, it was a very sick, perverted song done by someone who doesn't have a life, and who thought up other sick perverted songs and put them on a CD for other sick perverted people with no life to listen to. Not saying I'm sick and perverted, the song had a catchy beat. I didn't know all the lyrics or anything, heck, I didn't even know the title of the song! I just thought it was a cool beat to have for my ring on the phone. In my defense, if you didn't know what it was, you'd think it was a happy song and not a...very bad song.  
  
"Oh, so you know that tune?" I said sweetly.  
  
Her face turned beet red, "I will NOT have a song like that being played on my daughter's phone! And did I SAY you could even have a phone, let alone BRING IT?"  
  
I was trapped, no where to run in a car, "I bought it with my money a while ago, I should be able to keep it."  
  
"YOU- CAN'T- KEEP- IT!" She almost screamed, turning back to the wheel and turning around, determining that I didn't deserve a welcome dinner. I thought that was the end, but it wasn't. It got worse, WAY worse.  
  
"Why were we connected to the Internet when I got home." My 'mom' said in a calmer but suspicious voice, "Jena? Do you know about that?"  
  
"Mother," She said in a light voice, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but- Caitlin was on the internet today."  
  
"What!" I exclaimed, sitting up. I didn't even know how to work the stupid thing! How come every time I tried to act like a responsible adult it blows up in my face!  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
This time the car wasn't pulled over, but it was a screaming match.  
  
I lost.  
  
Could things get any worse? Oh yeah, next Jena told her that I had been listening to a station on the radio that wasn't on their 'stations to listen to' list. I tried to tell them that I was bored out of my mind and it was a classical music station that I had grown to love, but my new mom wouldn't hear of it. She grounded me in my pink frilly prison for a week without anything electrical. What kind of cruel and unusual punishment is that!?  
  
Now, back to the present time. In essence, I was already done being a responsible adult and was back to being an unresponsible teenager. I lit another candle on my desk because my first one was going out. Cami looked shocked.  
  
"What are you doing with that?"  
  
"Get this." I told him, "She's making me use CANDLES to keep my room lit."  
  
He smirked and looked though my luggage for something else entertaining to do, " I wouldn't use those if I were you, which I kinda am if you get right down to it, with your luck and grace you'll set the house on fire."  
  
I looked at my electrical clock on my night table. It was only 6:54. Too early to go to sleep, and I didn't have anything else to do. I felt like a lion in a cage at the circus as I paced stiffly around my room, "I HATE THIS!"  
  
Cami almost laughed and picked up a magazine from my pile, "You shouldn't have broken the rules, great first impression Cait."  
  
"I didn't mean to! And I especially didn't want to get stuck in HERE! I don't do well in closed places for long periods of time! I'm like a gypsy from Hunchback of Notre Dame!"  
  
He shrugged and started to read one of my Cosmo Girl magazines, "At least you've got school to look forward to tomorrow." He laughed, "I don't even want to know what it would be like if you lived here BEFORE school started."  
  
I glanced at him, "What are you reading?"  
  
Cami flinched and hid the magazine behind his back, "Nothing!"  
  
I groaned and sat in the pink chair they had provided, "I was supposed to call Tea tonight and give her the play-by-play! She was supposed to give me moral support! And no offence but you aren't exactly the king of moral support. Last time you tried to help me you ended up getting me into more trouble then I was in before."  
  
"Hey that wasn't my fault I thought that he liked polka dots on his ties!" He exclaimed defensively.  
  
I had been going to school for a few months and staying in a hotel while this family got ready for me and Tea had told me yesterday to call her, only I couldn't.  
  
Phones are electrical.  
  
I looked around at the room, "I have GOT to get out of here or I'll loose my mind!"  
  
Before Cami could object, I had activated my millennium item's power. My Millinium Item has one of THE COOLEST powers, if I do say so myself. It took me forever to figure out how to use it right, and through trial and error, I finally found out that the item can open a portal into any person, of your choosing's, dream.  
  
The cool thing about it, is that I become ghost-like and no one can see me for a period of time. At least until my power runs out, I have to be careful because if I'm in this state for too long or go into too many dreams at one time I could run out and be visible again. It gets complicated if you're in a dream when it happens. You could be stranded there forever, existing in the dream itself and complete chaos would ensue! I found that you could get stuck the hard way, in Ryou's dream no less. It wasn't fun, but I got out in the end.  
  
I walked to the doorway and attempted to float through the door like other Yami's can do, and sadly forgot I couldn't do that with this item. I ran straight into the door with a loud bang of my skull hitting the wood. Cami laughed and teased me by putting his hand through my desk.  
  
"Oooh Caitlin, look what I can do and you can't!" He kept putting his hand though various objects and laughing as I opened the door the old fashioned way and snuck out of the house.  
  
-*-*-*-*-  
  
Once I was outside of the pink house, I felt free again. I walked around the city, looking at various people and watching them do things, but one person was especially interesting. No, more like intriguing. He was running quickly down an empty ally and almost slipped on a piece of a cardboard box before getting up again and continuing. What confused me, was that there was no one coming after him, he was alone.  
  
Of coarse, I followed. I was all too curious in this person to just let him run away, maybe I could help him somehow. When he reached a house I assumed was his, I came in immediately after him. He locked the door and all the windows rapidly and nailed some openings shut with anything he could find. What was he so afraid of? Why was he doing this? I was too interested to be nervous about how I would get out of the house myself and watched him pace and take extra measures to not allow anyone in, from a safe distance. He finally chugged down a bunch of sleeping pills, and after about a ten minutes, sleep found him.  
  
Normally, I would let the poor man be and go about my business, but he had put this upon himself and I was determined to find out what was wrong. I slowly walked up to his bed side and the beetle shaped amulet's wings opened to reveal the Egyptian eye underneath. A portal appeared over the man and I was able to walk right into it and enter his dream.  
  
%%%%%%%%  
  
I looked around at the dark gloom and fog. It was so thick that I could barely see where I was going and almost ran straight into the man who was too wandering. He looked very shaken and disturbed by something. He looked around nervously and was very pale.  
  
"Hi!" I said smiling, "My name is Caitlin and how are we doing today?"  
  
"Uh....uh...."  
  
I cleared my throat, "I asked you a polite question, could you please do me the honor of answering it."  
  
"I- am in kind of a rush now."  
  
"Oh well I'm not. Why are you in a rush we're kinda in a dream here. It's not like you'd go anywhere."  
  
"I'm in big trouble."  
  
"Your not making any sense. WHY are you in trouble? What happened?"  
  
"I- I stole money from a gang I used to belong to."  
  
I raised my eyebrows, "A gang? Well that gets nominated for the stupidest thing done by a guy. Dude, you'd have better luck stealing from a bank! Gang's will kill you if you steal, bank's will just put you in jail for life or something."  
  
"That's the point, I did it for revenge. And I needed money so, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time."  
  
"Wow you're stupid."  
  
"You don't understand! I was in that gang, and we stole from a bank together. Only they turned me in so they wouldn't get caught and I was the one that went to jail. When I got back they wouldn't let me back in and I had to live on my own in a dumpy house. I couldn't pay the rent because I didn't get my share of the money and- and now they want to kill me!"  
  
"Well you- WHAT!? When! Tonight!? NOW? WHILE I'M IN HERE!?"  
  
He nodded sadly, "I did everything I could, and I'm asleep because then I won't feel pain when they shoot me to death."  
  
I was in a state of shock. This was defiantly not one of my better ideas, "Uh, I- I think I'd better be going before you...you know...die and all..."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
I've seen what happens when someone just started a different dream in the night and she was stuck, she didn't want to see what happened when someone died in their dreams. "Yeah see, I'm kind of busy...and...stuff...buh- bye now!"  
  
He put his hand on my shoulder and his body started to fade, "They're here."  
  
He couldn't die, not now, not while I was still in here! I turned around and looked for some kind of portal to get out of this dream as fast as I could. It wasn't there. I felt around in the air for it. I started to panic and waved my arms around wildly. "This can't be happening." I told myself, "I haven't been a ghost thing for that long, why is it gone!"  
  
I looked around for a while longer before calming myself down, "Not to worry, I just have to convince the dude that it's all a dream and the portal will come back."  
  
I thought for a moment, he already knew it was a dream. Why did it go away? This can't be a very good sign. I turned around and looked from the stupid man that stole from the gang, only there was one problem.  
  
He wasn't there.  
  
"Dude?" I said, "Dude? DUDE!? DUDE WHERE ARE YOU!"  
  
I was trapped. There was no way out. No Cami, no idea what to do, no way out whatsoever. Before I could comprehend my first problem, another arose. The whole dream suddenly changed. The fog turned into blue smoke, and the gray around me into a dark purple that looked almost black. It didn't take long for the smoke to turn colors, from a light pink to a blood red. Then goldenrod yellow and dark green. It was very pretty, despite the freakiness of it.  
  
The smoke was continuously moving around me and it was impossible now to see more then a few inches in front of my feet. I took a deep breath and started to journey into the colored, ever thickening smoke. I had heard that animals attacked things that weren't moving more often, and I definitely wasn't moving. Even though I felt blind, worse things could happen when you didn't go anywhere and lingered.  
  
The biting cold stung my face like a strong gust of icy wind had suddenly kicked up. I shivered and rubbed my arms to keep warm with not very visible results. Every step I took got harder and harder to bear, and I was strangely running out of energy with every second.  
  
"That's it Caitlin." I told myself, "Just keep walking, one foot in front of the other. Don't scream, cry, think you're going insane, just keep walking."  
  
It scared me how the smoke would move away just as I was going to step on it, like it had a mind of it's own. I knew I was moving, but it looked like I was getting nowhere fast.  
  
"Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking..." I said quietly, hearing something like a baby crying coming from behind me.  
  
'Congratulations, it's a girl!' A new voice said. It didn't sound real, like something in my head, and it echoed on for what seemed like many minutes. And suffice to say, I didn't like it.  
  
"Just keep walking." I repeated, "There really isn't anything there, there isn't. Just keep walking."  
  
'Happy birthday to you!' A group of voices sang, 'Happy birthday to you!'  
  
This voice sounded more real then the one from before. I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around, looking nervously behind me. The echo's died, and I was left with the sound of my of deep breathing and the beads of sweat slowly forming on my forehead from the voices. Not including my Yami, I didn't hear voices in my head very often.  
  
"Who's there?" I shouted, hearing no response to my cry.  
  
"Go." Was all I could say, my heart flying, "Just keep walking...no matter who that was..."  
  
'So where do you want to go tonight?' Some voice said, more real then anything my Yami would have been able to say to me. It sounded like it was coming from right behind me and speaking into my ear.  
  
'I don't mind, anywhere I can get an ice cream!' A younger voice spoke.  
  
'Well you're going to have to give me more then that, how about somewhere with music playing? I know how much you love music. Maybe somewhere Mexican?'  
  
'Somewhere with food!'  
  
'But what kind of food sweetie?'  
  
'Yummy food!'  
  
I was running now, I had closed my eyes and ran head on, covering my ears the best I could to stop the sounds from coming. They were so familiar, like a memory I couldn't quite put my finger on.  
  
'Jingle bells,' The voices sang, 'Jingle all the way!'  
  
'Oh what fun it is to ride in a no horse open car!' Someone finished.  
  
Then she heard one scream, 'Honey watch the road, WATCH THE ROAD!'  
  
I was at full speed, running with my eyes shut tight for the fear of seeing things in my head as well. "Go away!" I yelled, not that it would matter.  
  
"Please!" A young child's voice screamed, crying loud enough to send tingles up my spine easily.  
  
"Go back to the streets where you came from!" Another voice shouted in reply, followed by the sound of both a slamming door, and more sobs from the young child.  
  
I couldn't go any faster then I was going now, and barely felt my feet flying below me until I felt them tangle with each other. I tripped over my own feet and landed on the hard ground. It was like a harder version of dirt and it stung when I landed on it. The voices had died down, but I got up quickly all the same. I was used to falling down, and tripping over my own feet, but now seemed to be the wrong time. I barley dusted the black dirt from my skinned arm when I was starting to run again. Of all things, I didn't want those voices to start again. However, someone stopped me. A hand fell onto my shoulder and gripped hard enough to make me wince.  
  
"Well, well, well." He said, "Who do we have here?"  
  
-*_.-*_.-*_.-*_.-*_.-*  
  
Author- Ok, now you know who Caitlin is and what the problem is, and you have an idea what her character role is. That, my friends, was the role I couldn't edit out or change. *shrug* Not THAT bad right? Can you live with it? I tried to make it as short as humanly possible with the same effect of knowing what's going on. Good? Can I get you anything? *lol*  
  
Author- Now, we're going to start getting to the good parts. ^^ Next chapter is going to feature the YGO gang, really. I'm going to switch POV's every chapter so...yea. Oh, and I don't think I'm going to be doing any pairings during the story, but if you want to suggest one I'm always open! ^^ 


	3. Yugi Motou, Destined First

Author- ^______^ It starts.... that's all I've got to say.  
  
Note- Thank you soooooo much for reading the next chapter! *teary eyes* I didn't know if it was good enough and all I wanted was a fic that people would continue reading and not just stop. THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH THIS STORY! Also, I think I'm going to have some fun with this story and make it 'sorta interactive'. I am going to have a different point of view all the time, but I'm not going to tell you who it is. You'll just have to be observant and find out for yourself. ^^  
  
Author- *reads* Gee, I guess I had more to say then I thought. *shrug* Now read.  
  
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Tea tapped her foot impatiently on the floor and looked around her room. The whole gang was there, but no one was talking. Caitlin had promised us she would call as soon as she got settled and tell us about her family and house and all. No one in the gang had ever been adopted, and we were curious to see how it went. We've know Caitlin for a few years now, and we've all grown pretty close. Everyone was just eagerly awaiting her call. Tea had the phone in her hand, and was pressing the buttons over and over to keep her busy. Finally, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" Tea said, answering it on the first ring, "Oh, hi grandma." She said dully, "No of course I'm happy to hear from you! Uh huh. Uh huh, do you want to talk to mom? Oh sorry, mom is busy at the moment could you call back in about a half an hour? Thanks, bye I love you too grandma buh-bye!"  
  
Tea beeped the phone off and groaned in a low tone.  
  
"Who was that Tea?" Her mother's voice called from the kitchen.  
  
"Just a sale's person." Tea lied, playing around once again with the numbers on the phone. Joey slumped deeper into his bean-bag chair.  
  
"She forgot to call, I mean you can't really blame her. New family and everything..."  
  
"She wouldn't just forget." I answered, "That's not like her, maybe something's wrong."  
  
"Wrong?" Tristen exclaimed, "What could possibly go wrong, Yugi, hello this is Caitlin we're talking about."  
  
"That's exactly what I mean." I said, "It's Caitlin we're talking about. Haven't you noticed that Caitlin always seems to be in some kind of trouble?"  
  
Tea tapped the end of the phone on the table, "Well, yea I guess so, but what kind of trouble could someone get into? Even if it IS Caitlin."  
  
I fingered with my millenium puzzle, "Maybe we should check on her. It couldn't hurt right?"  
  
Tea got up quickly and grinned, "Like a surprise visit! I like it!"  
  
"But how are we supposed to find her?" Joey asked.  
  
I smiled, "Simple, Ryou can track Caitlin's millenium item and it'll lead us right to her! As long as she's wearing the amulet, which she always is, it will work the same way as a tracking device."  
  
"Well, then I guess we'd better start going over before it gets too late." Tristen said, pointing at the clock on Tea's wall.  
  
Everyone nodded and Ryou began to use the power of his millenium ring. It glowed and started to point in a direction, but then stopped. Ryou shook it a few times before getting a [A/N: CUTE!!] puzzled look on his face.  
  
"Hmm, that's strange..." He said, knocking the ring lightly against Tea's bed.  
  
"What's strange?" I said, suddenly nervous of what it could be.  
  
Caitlin was never one to 'stay out of things'. Although she didn't always MEAN to get into trouble, it happened anyway. 'Trouble follows me.' She had told them one day, and it was scarily true. She had almost been drowned to death in our previous vacation, gone to jail, gotten us into jail, and stranded us in California in the two years or so that we've known her. Yami says that she's just like Cami was.  
  
Yami knew him when he was younger, and although Cami occupied the safe job of being a scribe, he was always doing something that would get him into trouble. And Cami wasn't always good at being a scribe. Yami says that he would 'bend the truth' a little when he wrote down the events to make them sound more interesting. He got in huge trouble one time for writing that the priest died because an army of winged hippos with magic powers attacked him in the night instead of his real cause of death, old age. People were afraid to go near the Nile for days until Yami cleared it all up.  
  
I'm glad I got a Yami that was the pharaoh, it's a whole lot more interesting then a scribe and a whole lot better then a tomb robber. Yami can tell me loads of interesting things, and helps me out in tough situations. He gives me knowledge and advice, while Ryou gets bruises and Caitlin gets headaches.  
  
"What's strange Ryou?" I repeated.  
  
"Well, it's the ring."  
  
Tea instantly panicked, "Oh no please don't tell me you can't pick up a signal!"  
  
"No..." Ryou said, looking at the ring closely, "It's not that. I've got a signal, it's just not very strong. Like a half signal or something. And what is strange is that the signal keeps getting weaker and weaker, like the item is disappearing of something."  
  
"Oh boy," Tristen said, "That can't be good."  
  
I blinked, "Why would you be loosing the signal Ryou?"  
  
"I'm not sure, I've only seen something like this happen when tracking the amulet once and that was when Caitlin was drowning." [1]  
  
"You don't think she's in big trouble do you?" Tea said.  
  
"Well there's only one way to find out." Joey announced, "We'd better get moving."  
  
We took out bikes up to the neighborhood Caitlin showed us later. It was very large, but all the houses were very close together and they looked like no privacy was possible. Ryou took the lead with his ring and followed it up to the pink house, number 2134. Although Ryou was finally riding his bike, he had crashed four times into various things such as mailboxes, trees, and lampposts. Joey laughed when Ryou was getting himself out of his second bush.  
  
"Maybe we should get him training wheels..." He whispered to me.  
  
"This is the one." Ryou said, pulling a branch out from his hair while kicking down his kickstand. "According to the ring that is."  
  
Tristen gagged at the sight of it, "It's so pink!"  
  
"Then, we'd better get in there." Said Tea, ringing the doorbell.  
  
Caitlin's 'mom' answered with a strange look of boredom on her face, "Yes?"  
  
Tea tried to make her most friendly and cute smile, "Hello! We're friends of Caitlin's and we need to speak to her right away."  
  
She scowled, "Caitlin is banned from friends for a week, she broke the rules already and I intend to stomp the hooliganism out of her before it gets out of hand! That means she will not be attending the family vacation this year so she can go to school, so you will see her there."  
  
Teas smile faded, "But-"  
  
"But-" I interrupted, "She forgot her homework assignments and we have to give them to her!"  
  
"Well she shouldn't have been irresponsible. It's her own fault and I think it would serve her right to flunk the paper it would teach her a lesson."  
  
I shook my head in disbelief, Caitlin's new mom was terrible! I never really got to know my parents, and Grampa's pretty strict but...I've never seen anyone like HER before! Reluctantly, the gang and I had to leave. But we hadn't even gone a few inches worth when Yami came up with a great idea.  
  
//Yugi, what's wrong?//  
  
/Caitlin's mom is a total nightmare and wont let us in. She could be in big trouble too! I know her mom doesn't realize it but Caitlin is a trouble magnet!/  
  
//Yes, and the item she bears is very powerful, probably one of the most powerful out of the group of eight but it is also the most dangerous.//  
  
/Yeah, I know. Caitlin said she got stuck one time in Ryou dream but.../  
  
//That isn't just it, aibou, the dream realm is actually a direct branch of the shadow realm, and I'm sure you know how dangerous it can be there.//  
  
/I know. You don't think she got stuck again or lost do you Yami?/  
  
//You cannot ever be sure, I just fear that the ring not picking up on the amulet quickly is a bad sign..... a very bad sign. There's something else too, but I can't tell you about it right now, it will just worry you.//  
  
/Well what can we do?/  
  
//Wait, I think I have a plan. I could just check on Caitlin for a second using my spirit form. Only the holders of the millenium items and their close friends can see us when we are spirits, so I wouldn't cause a commotion among the family that resides in that house. I'd only go in for a second, just to make sure nothing was wrong, then come back and report.//  
  
/That's a great idea Yami!/  
  
"Guys?" Ryou said quietly, "The item has gone mad."  
  
Ryou had stopped his bike on the sidewalk and was staring at the ring around his neck. At first glance, I couldn't see anything wrong with it. But when I looked closer, I saw that the points on the ring kept jerking up and down in the direction we had come from.  
  
"It has NEVER done this before." He said, biting his lip, "And it may just be me, but this doesn't look promising."  
  
"How are we supposed to see what the matter is if that- that- WOMAN wont let us in!" Tristen said exasperatedly.  
  
"My Yami has a plan." I said, coolly, "He wants to go into her house as the spirit form to check up on her, to be sure there isn't anything to worry about, then he'll come back and bring us all up to speed."  
  
"If the Pharaoh's going..." Ryou said, his voice and face suddenly changing, "Then I'm coming too."  
  
I felt my Yami take control over me. He never liked Ryou's Yami, the tomb robber, (more like hated) and had the most pleasure shooting him down or finding a good comeback phrase. I could tell Ryou's Yami (let's just call him Bakura) had the same idea and we were constantly changing back and forth into new forms so they could argue or make points at good times. I watched from my soulroom, knowing I would be out again very soon. When Yami makes up his mind, there isn't anything that can stop him unless you compromise or you are Bakura, who is as quick tongued, strong willed, and stubborn as Yami himself, possibly more so.  
  
"I don't want you jeopardizing this Tomb Robber." He spat, "This could be a very tricky situation and I don't want you messing it up."  
  
"Come now Pharaoh, it wouldn't be fair to leave men behind anyway. And besides, two heads are better then one." He said bitterly.  
  
"With you as one of the heads it will take away from the job instead of aiding it."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
I knew he was just acting calm at the moment because Yami wasn't and it would get on his nerves. It worked. Yami always got frustrated when people didn't take things like they should and for some reason, he felt this problem with not getting a hold of Caitlin was a huge ordeal and was eager to see what was wrong.  
  
"You know I'm coming and that there isn't anything you can do to stop me. There hasn't been anything interesting happening lately and I just want a bit of entertainment. Something to amuse me."  
  
He did it again, the second thing Yami hates more then ever is when people think putting other's lives in danger is amusing. Really, I doubted he actually felt that way, and really just was concerned, no that's not the right word, Bakura is never 'concerned', CURIOUS about why his item was failing to do it's job, but wanted to put on an act. Yami was very angry right now, and wasn't at all up to playing toss-the-insults with Bakura. He simply decided it was going to take longer to convince Bakura not to come then it would to just let him come and get it over with.  
  
"Fine, Tomb Robber, you may come this one time. But if you mess this up I don't know what I'll do to you."  
  
"Really Pharaoh, if anyone will screw the thing up it will be you." He smirked, leaving Ryou's body behind and following my Yami's form down the street and back up to the house. Everyone just blinked and looked at Ryou and me for an explanation. All I could say, was the simple answer to their expressions.  
  
"Go on home. If it's anything serious, I'll call you."  
  
.~`.~`.~`.~`.~`. This one's hard at first, so I'll tell you who is it, Yami .~`.~`.~`.~`.~`.  
  
We came into Caitlin's room on our second try, only to see the ghostly form of her Yami, sitting on her bed reading a 'Cosmo Girl' magazine. Why he was reading that, we couldn't say. He looked up at us, and quickly hid the magazine behind his back.  
  
"Hasn't anyone ever heard of knocking!?" He exclaimed, trying to stuff it under the covers without us noticing.  
  
I smirked, "What were you doing with that?"  
  
His face lost it's color, "Uh, well, I um, that's- that's really none of your business!"  
  
"Uh, yes it is, spill it."  
  
He fidgeted with the pages of the magazine, "Well, I was bored and interested and it was the only descent thing to look at." An evil grin spread across his face as he gave up trying to lie, "It tells all of girl's secret desires and wished and everything in here! It's like an instruction manual for guys!"  
  
I could tell that Bakura wanted a look at the book, but we didn't have much time to waste looking at something useless to us anyway.  
  
"Where is your aibou?" I asked, almost refusing to call Caitlin a 'hikari'.  
  
Cami flipped through the pages of the magazine, "Oh her, yeah she said she'd go crazy staying in this room any longer and went outside."  
  
For some reason, when he said that a little siren when off in my head, "How exactly did she get out? I thought her mother said she had grounded her, and I don't think Caitlin could just waltz right past them."  
  
"She used her millenium power and snuck out without being seen. She hasn't come back for a while though."  
  
My eyes narrowed in thought, "How long?"  
  
"Um, I think it's been about an hour by now."  
  
"And she still hasn't turned up?" I interrupted.  
  
"No, I didn't think that it was such a big deal. Why are you so big about this? What's the problem?"  
  
Bakura shook his head, "There has to be a reason my ring isn't picking the amulet up very easily."  
  
He took the ring out to show Cami the problem that was making all of us uneasy, and waited. We all watched it, and although it gave the same message to Cami, it did something completely different then the other times before. The points were now weakly pointing at Cami, but even though they were so close to him, they were lower then they had been. With every passing second, the points sunk lower and lower until they were completely hanging down.  
  
Cami was about to make a smart comment about how 'Bakura broke the item' I was sure, but then he himself noticed something else very wrong and his attention was taken. He blinked a few times, and brought his hand close to his face to examine it. He looked at his hand for a long time, and I, in shock I must add, watched as it slowly became more and more easy to see. It looked like it was becoming solid. I didn't want to believe what I was seeing! The ring instantly started to point at Cami, as strong as ever.  
  
"Oh shit." Cami said, gripping his arm tightly and gritting his teeth in some kind of pain.  
  
Bakura was in awe, "Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?"  
  
Cami shook his arm a few times and bit his lip, "This hasn't ever happened before. This isn't SUPPOSESD to happen! I'm dead! I shouldn't be alive again!"  
  
My heart almost stopped, "Alive?"  
  
Cami let out a long, pained sigh and said slowly, "Yes alive! Are you just not seeing this hand of mine become...solid! It feels like it's being run over by a car or something! Is it alive or not? You tell me!"  
  
He lifted his hand in the air dramatically and let it fall onto the desk. I didn't know at first, what he was up to, but I understood when the hand hit the desk hard. He winced a bit, then did it again. Both times, something happened that never happens when a Yami is in his spirit form. The hand hit the desk,  
  
and made a sound.  
  
***********  
  
After calming Cami down, (which was quite a feat, because Cami kept going on and on about how this whole new millenium was messed up) and telling him to lay low for a while before we could find out why he was becoming alive again, I went back to talk to Yugi. He was confused at first, but as soon as he understood he grabbed the phone and dialed a number.  
  
"Hello Joey? It's me. Yes I know...that's cool. Listen, remember when I said I'd call you if anything bad happened?"  
  
=]-]-]-]-]-]-]-]-]-]-]=  
  
Author- Gosh, I don't have anything to say anymore at the end of fanfics! I'm speechless!  
  
Tristen- That's a first...  
  
Author- -.-;; I guess the only thing to do is to R&R PEOPLES! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!  
  
Caitlin- *sigh* I guess we're onto the next chapter now.  
  
Author- YOU BET! ^______^ Time to torture Caitlin!  
  
Caitlin- *falls down*  
  
Author- *taps chin* Oh! Now I remember what I was going to say to all you peoples!  
  
What I was going to say to all you Peoples- I KNOW THIS FANFIC LOOKS BORING SO FAR, BUT IT'S GOING TO GET A LOT BETTER SOON. MORE OF RYOU, YUGI, AND THEIR YAMI'S. ^^ PLEASE KEEP READING! 


	4. The Voices in my Head

Author- Now, in order to keep you all in suspense and everything, I'm going to switch POV's every chapter from the first Realm to the second. It's a whole lot easier for me to write, and it might be a little easier to read. *shrug* A little comical relief every other chapter. This chapter goes back to Caitlin's POV ok?  
  
Very Happy Note- Omigosh! O.O I GOT REVIEWS! TWO OF THEM! I AM SO HAPPY! *does the happy dance* THANKYOUSOMUCH!  
  
*_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_*  
  
[A/N: *looks closely at design that was made* *squints* That looks sorta like a sombrero or something. Maybe candy-corn? Or bored faces?]  
  
I looked up fearfully to the voice that had spoken to me. It couldn't be anyone or anything good to be in a place like this, and I wasn't exactly 'looking forward' to meeting new people at the moment. What surprised me, is that the grown man looked like someone out of a late medieval fairy tale book. He had long brown hair in a pony tail behind him and dark eyes, that looked more black then anything else. There was a long sword attached to his belt that he was holding onto tightly as he grinned down on me.  
  
"And who might you be Miss?"  
  
He called me miss. I didn't know whether or not to take that as a good thing or a bad thing. But good or bad, it was defiantly a good idea to get up off the ground. I tried to get up, but he pushed down hard on my back with his foot and looked suspiciously at me.  
  
"Your name."  
  
No 'Miss' this time. Crap, not good. I wanted more then ever to just answer him and get back onto my feet again, but I quickly realized it was hard to talk with your face in the dirt. I said my name clearly, but he couldn't understand me at all, I think I sounded like I was saying 'Mamph phum' and he got angry. He grabbed me roughly by the wrist and yanked me onto my knees so he could see my face. He also saw something else, something I didn't necessarily want him to see.  
  
"What's this?" He asked, grabbing my amulet and feeling it with his large thumb. And I mean large, it was the biggest finger I had ever seen in my life!  
  
By the look on his face, I had a feeling he knew what it was. He just wanted me to verify it for him. He kept feeling the Eye of Ra with his thumb, like it would somehow tell him what it was, and he kept his eyes off my face. I was still speechless, but when he pulled on the amulet, I knew I had to say something in order to save my item from passing hands to this...person.  
  
"Don't!" I exclaimed, flinching back from him like he was fire.  
  
Oh yeah, that was smart. The man's cheeks puffed up like some kind of a deranged human-like blowfish head, and he gripped his sword. This guy obviously wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier if he thought I would just decide to attack a fully grown man with a sword when I was unarmed. Oh wait, I had fingernails, but I didn't think that counted for much.  
  
"What's so special about that trinket?" He asked, slight annoyance in his voice.  
  
Ok, so he didn't know what it was. If I wasn't so frightened at the moment, I would be relieved.  
  
"It's my...favorite necklace." I said. Not REALLY a lie, it was my favorite and I HAD made it into a necklace. Only, it wasn't supposed to be a- stupid! Why am I arguing with myself about if I'm lying or not!?  
  
"Oh is it?" He said, touching it again. I wished he would stop doing that.  
  
"Yes." I said, "My very favorite necklace."  
  
He almost believed me. Key word there is 'almost'. Course, it didn't help that my item then started to glow. I didn't know what that meant, glowing item, but it didn't matter at the moment. The man's eyes bore into me as he pulled me closer to him.  
  
"Necklaces don't glow." He said, stupidly I might add. 'Necklaces don't glow' I mean, come on. Of course necklaces don't glow!  
  
Taking my cue, I broke free of his grip and sprinted past him. I didn't know where I was going, but what was that on the horizon? Was that a forest? And a lake or ocean or something? In the middle of this- nowhere? I didn't have much time to dwell on that, because for some reason, I got something like a really bad headache. I felt like my brain was going to explode and fell to the ground on my knees in agony.  
  
'Let me into your mind.' A voice echoed.  
  
I held my head and pushed, trying to make the pain go away. The whole world seemed to go quiet and the voice kept telling me to 'Let them into my mind' and I was continuously telling them 'No' even though I couldn't hear myself speaking. I only came to when the man grabbed my hard by my hair and lifted me up onto my feet again.  
  
"Trying to get away from me eh?" He growled, pulling his sword out of the shieth and letting me go.  
  
I was able to barely keep my balance as I was let go of, and noticed I felt a little nauseous. What was that voice? My Yami wasn't with me anymore, why was I hearing voices? And voices from my past too. The sword in the man's hand was flashing threateningly in the small bit of sunlight and I noticed it was very old fashioned. Like a medieval sword to match his outfit. I was surprised he just didn't have a gun, guns work better then swords do in my opinion, just one shot and Boom, you're dead. You don't even have to say 'Hi' to the person. Not that you would have time to say hi, they would be dead before you got your words out of your mouth. Sword or gun, it didn't matter much. I was still going to be fighting a loosing battle if he decided to kill me off for my...being me.  
  
"Yukio told me to kill off anyone that refuses to give me their real name and is an intruder."  
  
"Who said I was an intruder!?" I exclaimed. Once again letting my emotions take over when it really wasn't the time to.  
  
"You refuse to give me your name, how do I know you aren't an intruder?"  
  
"How do you know I am? This place is in the middle of nowhere for goshness sake!" I decided to play mind games with him. I wasn't very good at playing mind games, but it's like that one thing they say about the bear. 'I don't have to be faster then the bear, I have to be faster then the slowest person running from the bear.' Well, this was sort of like that, because as bad as I was at playing mind teasers, I HAD to be better then this guy was.  
  
Unfortunately, he foiled my plans by not even noticing my mind game, and instead, he noticed my comment of 'being in the middle of nowhere'. He seemed amused by my confusion; "You have no idea where you are do you?'  
  
My mouth opened slightly as I thought of a good answer to that. I knew I wasn't in the physical world anymore, but I didn't know EXACTLY where I was. The man shed a satisfied smile, and I could tell now he was missing a few of his teeth, and all the rest were yellowed. Not the guy you'd want to kiss, I assumed. And assuming was all that I wanted to do.  
  
"That trinket you carry, does it not give you access to this realm?"  
  
Realm, he said realm. That wasn't much help though, the only realm I knew about was the Shadow Realm and I didn't even know much about that! I wasn't very good at figuring things out when there was a source to get it from. And he looked like a very promising source. I decided to take my chances with asking him more questions instead of just listening intently for clues. Who had time for that nonsense anyway? Probably the guy who invented the word 'work', HE sounded like a boring individual with too much time on his hands. Provided he was a dude, it might be a girl. No, any woman with any sense would know better then to invent the word work, or would she...  
  
I blinked, my mind was wandering again. I had to focus on the task on hand. The fact that I might be killed rather quickly if I didn't choose my words carefully. Something about this place was making it hard for me to concentrate.  
  
"Realm?" Good question, quick, simple, and to the point. Man I'm good.  
  
The man laughed, "You surprise me, because if that necklace is indeed the thing I think it is, you should know all about the Dream Realm."  
  
Ok, so he DID know what it was. Stupid person! Can't he just be predictable?  
  
"That depends," I said, "What do you think it is and why should I know this much about where ever this place is?"  
  
He smirked, "Welcome girl, to the one and only Dream Realm. That item you have around your neck is wanted by my master." He nodded, eyeing the amulet hungrily, "I have a feeling that is the Destiny Item of the Beetle."  
  
"Destiny item, ne [1]? That's a new one." I said, somewhat sarcastically. This guy must not be very good at remembering names, because this was my Millenium Amulet. Not a Destiny item, destiny was not my friend. I did not like destiny, destiny did not like me. Even if I liked destiny I'd like my item to be called the proper thing. He ignored my comment and continued with his explanation.  
  
"I'm going to give you a few choices, pick one. One, you can surrender the item to me and I'll let you go back to your home realm. Two, you can NOT surrender it, but end up letting me have it anyway because I'll just kill you and take it. Three, you can surrender your item to Yukio himself and give it to him by yourself. Maybe he'll go easier on you if you beg to him personally." He chuckled, "Or maybe he'll just make you one of his team to find the other two Destiny items."  
  
Ok, I was in big trouble now. I wasn't just going to surrender my item for my life to this punk and I wasn't going to die. But I couldn't just run for my life, what if that voice came back and I couldn't think straight again? I decided to stall for my life.  
  
"Two other items?" I asked, pretending to be interested. Even though in truth I was only interested in keeping both my life and my item.  
  
"We have reason to believe," He replied, "that there will be three bearers of Destiny Items that will journey into the Dream Realm. The Destiny Item of the Beetle, The Destiny Item of the Sun, and The Destiny Item of the Pyramid."  
  
Beetle, sun, and pyramid? Coincidence? I couldn't know for sure. They were surely off by a lot though, I mean, Ryou's item was not purposely in the shape of a sun. I guess that it could easily be mistaken for one though...the ring around and the points like the rays...and Yugi's was a pyramid for sure, as mine the beetle. No. This had to be some mistake. How would Yugi and Ryou possibly get here anyway? And how did they have 'reason to believe' that I was going to be here when I didn't even have stupid reason to believe I would be here! The knight person looked at my quizzically.  
  
"That surprises you?" He said, another one of his sneers creeping onto his face, "Why do I have a strange feeling you know where the other Destiny Items are?"  
  
"Why do you keep calling them Destiny Items!" I shouted, loosing my temper a little bit because of his attitude with me, "They are not called that!"  
  
"So you do know of them."  
  
I started to get frustrated with the way he was able to get anything he wanted out of me. "No I do not! Stop jumping to conclusions! Just because I know they are not called Destiny Items does not mean I know of them."  
  
"But if you know of their name, how could you not know of their existence?"  
  
Curse him!!  
  
"I...know of them." I said casually, hoping to turn this game around. I mean, what was with this guy! I was supposed to be the one playing the mind games with him not the other way around! I plastered a smirk on my face, trying to hide everything that was going on inside of me. "Not that I'm going to tell a baka [2] like you anything about 'em though."  
  
Before I knew it, he had grabbed me roughly by the front of my shirt and was lifting me into the air. Higher and higher until there wasn't even anything under my feet to keep me up and he had all control. I could barely breathe, and the pressure he was applying to the back of my neck was giving me a worse headache then I had before.  
  
"Listen you." He growled, pulling me so close that I could feel his hot breath on my face.  
  
...ewww...  
  
"You had better be a good little girl and tell me what you know before I have to kill you for it." He said, pressing the sword against my arm threateningly.  
  
"YOU STUPID HEAD!"  
  
Gee, that was intimidating. Great insult Caitlin! [3]  
  
I felt my feet touch the ground just enough to give me a chance to escape. I did a spinney thing away from him that I could probably never do again if I tried, and somehow ended up standing right in front of him. The only evidence there was that he had me in possession was a little cut on the arm he was holding the sword up to. I must have done that to myself when I did that spinney thing. Man that was cool! Being kind of clumsy, like I am, I was amazed that I didn't end up flat on my face after doing something like that. But surprisingly, the trip was absent in this moment. I pushed my luck a little and tried to take a step backward.  
  
"Ack!"  
  
Oh, there it is.  
  
I was now laying on my back, looking up at the knight person who once again, had the power over this out-come. He laughed at me, sprawled out on the ground looking up helplessly as he did something to his hands. It looked like the sign-language sign for the letter for V, except it looked like he drew a moon-like shape in the air while he did it, and the whole thing ended with his palm facing me. He muttered something, and then yelled, "YOUR FOOLISHNESS WILL COST YOU!"  
  
I felt like I was going to die of shock. I expected him to do something like, attack me with a sword move or something, but what I didn't expect was a little red ball of light to come out of his fingers and fly at me at high speeds. Guess which one happened? There wasn't anything I could do that would defend me from a killer finger ball of red light that I knew of off the top of my head, so I went with what my reflexes did. My hands sprung up in front of my face, not really thinking that it would do anything, but it was the only thing I had to work with. I squeezed my eyes shut and flinched as that...thing came at me like a bullet.  
  
I waited, but there was no explosion. I just felt my hands in front of me, my eyes shut tight, and a sort of force against my hands that was warm, but not deadly. I opened just one eye a crack, and saw that ball of light hovering in front of me. It was suspended in mid-air right before my eyes! I would have squeaked or something, but the red light was faster, and it shot right back at that knight guy and hit him! It hit him right smack dab in the middle of his chest, and he just stood there for a second, in complete shock. Then he fell to the ground like a bag of sand, and he didn't get up. His eyes were still wide open, and his hand was still clutching his sword, but he wasn't moving.  
  
Oh god, I killed him.  
  
Afraid that someone would yell at me or something, I lowered my hands from in front of me slowly. Did I just do that? Did I kill that man with my hands and a ball of finger light? I rose to my feet, and quickly felt a painful sensation run rapidly through my body. Like, you know when your foot falls asleep? It felt like that, only like everything in my entire body was asleep at the same time. I was about to shout for help, but before I could do anything, my vision started getting all blurry. I knew I had fallen to the ground, even though I couldn't feel anything in my body, and I heard voices calling my name. They were calling over and over again. I had enough energy left in me to turn my head and look towards the voices, but it didn't tell me at all who they were. All it told me, was that there were three strangely colored blurs running to me calling my name. I didn't know if they were good or bad blurs, all I knew was that they were blurs. That was all.  
  
I blacked out.  
  
@*@*@*@  
  
[1] I think that everyone knows this word, but I'm going to tell you anyway. NE is like...eh? Or huh? Or right?  
  
[2] Another word I thought everyone knew, BAKA- Idiot. Simple as that, and a favorite of mine! ^^  
  
[3] I found this saying from another fanfic that is absolutely laughing like crazy funny! It's called, 'The Thoughts that Malik Thinks' and I just couldn't resist using that line! If you can't find it, the fanfic is on my favorite story's list. GO READ IT! IT'S FUNNY! 


	5. Ryou Bakura, TheDestined Second and Yoko

Author- I know it must be really annoying reading about my new character being the center of attention, and all that will change soon, but how else was I supposed to set up the story? I needed to get them all into the Dream Realm somehow! ^^  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
When Yugi called me that night, I couldn't help but feel very panicky. I have always been called a worry-wart, and I guess this was why. I could barely sleep that night because I was so worried about what Yugi had to tell us the next day. He told everyone to meet early by Domino High so he could explain it to us in person. I almost yelled at him because I was so frustrated that he would just call me and say Caitlin was in trouble, then not tell me about it till the next day. Caitlin and I had always been really close, being the two girls in the group of six, and we always stayed in the same house when she was in Domino. But I knew if Yugi didn't have to tell me in person, he would have told me over the phone. So, reluctantly, I just said 'ok' and hung up.  
  
The next day we all met up at school early as planned, and Yugi took us to a place we could talk without being overheard. It was a small empty closet that was filled with cleaning supplies. But in spite of all the air fresheners, the closet smelled horrible. I had a feeling Ryou knew what the problem was already, because he looked as flustered as Yugi already did, and didn't seem to be in such a hurry to learn. Yugi finally took a deep breath and started to tell us the story.  
  
"Ok, you know that Yami went with Bakura to Caitlin's house yesterday to see what was the matter with Bakura's item and why she wasn't calling us. And we found that the answer to it all is... completely out of the ordinary."  
  
"What's up Yug?" Joey said, leaning in a little closer.  
  
"Cami is a mortal again."  
  
There was a stunned silence for a few seconds before Yugi answered what everyone was thinking.  
  
"Yami and I don't know really what happened. He says Cami told him that Caitlin used her item power that night and didn't come back, then right before his eyes, Cami started becoming a mortal again."  
  
"But how can that happen?" I said quietly just in case, "Cami is dead! He's been dead for 5000 years or whatever it's been now, how can he just...become human again?"  
  
Yugi shook his head, "I'm not sure. Yami stayed up all night thinking about it, you know how he gets when he can't figure something out, and the only possibility he could come up with was that Caitlin somehow got...stuck or something in the Dream Realm."  
  
"The Dream Realm?" Ryou said, speaking up for the first time.  
  
Yugi nodded, "Yami says that the Dream Realm is a branch of the Shadow Realm that your spirit goes into whenever you dream. Whenever Caitlin goes into our dreams with that item of hers, she's going into the Dream Realm. We don't know how she got stuck there, but that's the only possibility that we could think of."  
  
"How are we supposed to help her if she's in the 'Dream Realm'?" Tristen asked.  
  
"Well...that's the problem. We've got to find the entry to the Dream Realm. It has to be somewhere in the Shadow Realm, but only Ryou and I can go there safely. I don't know what would happen if we took all of the rest of you guys with us, and it's too risky to try it out."  
  
I nodded in agreement. I didn't want to be lost forever in the Shadow Realm when it wasn't absolutely necessary. Yugi looked glad we all understood. And now that I thought about it, we got the better side of the deal. We just had to stay put and wait, Ryou and Yugi had to go into a completely new realm alone, without the knowing that they would even be coming back.  
  
"Yami says we'll have to leave as soon as possible if we even have the slightest bit of hope in saving Caitlin before it's too late. We're going to have to leave right after school."  
  
The sound of the bell cut through his last words, and we said nothing more. We all hurried to our classrooms, and the school day went on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. When the day was finally over with, Ryou and Yugi left in the direction of Ryou's house to finish planning, and set off into the 'Dream Realm'. That was the last I would be seeing of them for a long time.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
I wasn't at all happy about what we had to do, but I knew it was for the best. And I also wasn't at all happy that my Yami had completely 'forgotten' to mention everything about Caitlin being trapped in a new realm and her Yami being mortal again. He told me that "we have a big job ahead of us" and that was pretty much all. It all came as a shock to me when Yugi called me up with the intentions of talking to me about it and planning what we were going to do about it, but my Yami was unfortunately, much less considerate. We decided to plan the whole thing over at my house because there wasn't anyone there that would interrupt us, and we needed as much quiet and concentration as possible.  
  
Yugi and I walked without talking, although we had much to say, I guess we both felt like we couldn't trust ourselves not to say something that someone might overhear and get suspicious about. Luckily, Yugi was that one to break the ice.  
  
"How are we supposed to pack?" Yugi asked suddenly, without warning.  
  
I looked up from watching the sidewalk go by, "I haven't a clue. Food, water, and clothes perhaps? Those sound like universal packing items, don't you think?"  
  
Yugi nodded, "For someone who doesn't have a clue, you seem to have more of a clue then I do." He sighed, "I feel a little nervous going somewhere no one knows about. Yami says its linked with the Shadow Realm, and I haven't been able to stand being in that place for more then a few minutes, maybe an hour if I'm really lucky."  
  
I could see where he was coming from. I hadn't ever really experienced the Shadow Realm fully, my Yami won't let me. He doesn't want me to show any more signs of weakness then I have to, and he always takes over when we go there. I hadn't even felt the feelings Yugi did and I was apprehensive about going without any Yami's to help us. I absentmindedly played with the limp millenium ring under my sweater and changed the subject.  
  
"What do you think will happen when we get there?" I asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, how do we know that we'll be able to get back out of there? And what happens if we don't come back, or we can't even find it?"  
  
Well, I didn't end up changing the subject of all. Probably because all I had on my mind was that Shadow Realm.  
  
Yugi smiled, "Don't be such a downer."  
  
That was coming from someone who was just talking about being nervous about the realm. I had to admit, sometimes it got a little annoying that Yugi could change opinions so quickly to fit the situation. I just needed someone to talk to me about those things that I was worried about, it made me feel better if there was a backup plan. I ignored this, and walked on in silence. When we finally approached my house and I slid opened the door slowly. Some people might describe my house as...well...creepy when my father wasn't here. It always felt so empty and desperately lacked the warmth that usually filled it when dad was home. But, I had grown quite used to it by now, and lead Yugi to my room.  
  
It was a good-sized room, but very plain. I kept it simple, white walls, a bed pushed off to the side, a dresser next to that, a closet, a desk with a clock and a lamp on it, and that was it. I didn't have much need of all the fancy gadgets they had now a days, and some people might even consider my taste 'boring'. But then again, when did I care what other people thought? Yugi looked around the room for a second; then he smiled at me and sat down on the bed.  
  
"So where do we even start?" He said.  
  
I sat down next to him and looked at the ceiling. It always helped me think when I was looking at something. "I don't know. Like I believe I've said before, I've never done this sort of thing before."  
  
Yugi laughed, "There's a first for everything I guess. But...first thing is first. To be sure we do everything right, we'd better get our Yami's out. Just in case."  
  
I nodded, "Good idea."  
  
Yugi and I aren't exactly good at being demanding, so even though we said that WE would get out Yami's out, it was entirely up to them if they wanted to come out or not. Luckily, they usually wanted to get out of the items, so that wasn't much of a problem. As if this was rehearsed, both the puzzle and the ring started to glow and I felt a burst of warmth on my chest. The two spirits took ghostly forms beside us with a barely noticeable whooshing noise and the quick 'over view' began.  
  
"So you're sure you want to go through with this?" Yugi's Yami asked us, looking me and Yugi square in the eye in turn.  
  
"Yami, yes. Of course we want to go through with this. Besides," Yugi said with a sly grin, "-nothing moderately exciting has happened since Battle City."  
  
"Yes that was certainly interesting wasn't it?" My Yami spoke, with no hint of guilt in his words. I wasn't ever as quick to let things go like that as Bakura was, and he said I had to learn how to soon or I would be trampled on in the 'real world to come'.  
  
"So how do we get to this 'Dream Realm' again?" I said, looking mostly to Yugi's Yami for an answer. He seemed to know what was going on better then anyone else did.  
  
I was right.  
  
"You're going to have to go into the Shadow Realm and find the gate entrance to the Dream Realm. There might be someone guarding it, most gates are that way. And you'll have to be fast to get away from the main Shadow Realm before you..." He trailed off slightly, casting a hesitant look Yugi's way.  
  
We knew exactly what he was talking about, so Yugi just interrupted him with a, "We will. And how are we supposed to find the gate? The Shadow Realm is a big place with no landmarks to follow."  
  
Yami closed his eyes, probably trying for the 'I-know-all. You-just-need-to- ask-the-right-questions-and-give-me-time' effect. "I was hoping Ryou could lend us use of his Ring."  
  
"My Ring?" I said quizzically, "What will that do?"  
  
"I'm assuming that your Ring couldn't get a signal from Caitlin's item. I'm betting that the reason you couldn't get a signal from it before, is because she was in the Shadow Realm, so it seemed like half the item was being held by Cami and the other half by Caitlin. The Ring was confused and couldn't lock on the right item, and then it locked onto the item that 'now mortal' Cami holds. But if you're in the Shadow Realm, it might lock onto Caitlin's item instead."  
  
"Might?" I said, my voice cracking a little bit at that lack of certainty.  
  
He ignored my comment and looked at Yugi, "As I said before, The gate might be heavily guarded, so be to keep your items well hidden. They are sot after even in the Dream Realm, and if someone were to take them, they you might never be able to return."  
  
I couldn't stress enough how unnerving it was to keep hearing those 'might's. The faith he had in us was a good thing, not that my Yami was joining in mind you, but I started to think that there wasn't anything he could say that would make me feel better. Strangely enough, no matter how unconvertible I felt about it, there also wasn't anything they could stay that would stop me from going with Yugi to save Caitlin. I was always very bad at making up my mind...I'm going to have to work on that...  
  
"I don't think we'll be able to contact you once you're in the Shadow Realm, so you'll be on your own. You're sure you are ok with this?"  
  
Yugi sighed and got up from the bed, "For the hundredth time Yami, yes."  
  
"Well alright then, be careful Yugi and stay brave." He said, with a small smile.  
  
Yugi returned it, and I couldn't help wishing my Yami would say something like that to me every once in a while. But that was probably a wish that would never come true, because Yami quickly sent me a look that said, 'Don't expect something like that from me.' I nodded, knowing deep inside that Yami wanted to same things for me too, he just didn't want to lose his reputation because I needed a few words of encouragement.  
  
"This is it then." I said, at the same time concentration on making the Shadow Realm appear in my bedroom.  
  
Yugi nodded and closed his eyes to help him tap into the shadow power. With the slight help of our Yami's, a cloud of thick dark smoke consumed us, and when we opened our eyes again, we were in the Shadow Realm.  
  
I knew this was the Shadow Realm because...well, to be frank, I knew because it defiantly wasn't my bedroom. It was cold and dark and there was no sign of any human beings anywhere in sight. I didn't start to feel the effect of the Shadow Realm until I took my first step forward. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me and it hurt to blink or even to take a single breath or air. Yugi grabbed hold of my shoulder to keep me from falling when my legs buckled underneath me and told me that I had to do my best to walk or this whole trip was in vain. I knew he was starting to feel the power of the Shadow Realm as well, but because he had already been here before, it wasn't as intense and he was fighting it very well. He pulled me up onto my feet, and did his best to whisper that I needed to use the ring's power. I did my best to nod to him, afraid that saying anything would make it harder to last, and looked to the Ring lying on my chest.  
  
Sure enough, Yugi's Yami was right in his hypothesis that my Ring would track Caitlin's item in the Realm. It pointed strongly to the north, and we did our best to follow it. Yugi still had to help balance me by letting me lean on his shoulder, which was very hard because he was so much shorter then I was, but at least I could walk. It was about fifteen minutes of pain and walking before Yugi noticed something different.  
  
"Do you...feel that...Ryou?" Yugi panted.  
  
At first I didn't know what he was talking about, but then I realized the sudden decrease in the pain of the Shadow Realm. I didn't need to lean on Yugi to walk anymore, and I could walk faster then I did. This wasn't so bad. The cold feeling, loss of breath, and splitting headache only lessened as we walked, and that encouraged us to walk faster and faster until we were almost at a jog. Yugi was completely puzzled and kept narrowing his eyes in thought.  
  
"I wonder why the pain is going away." He said.  
  
"Maybe it depends how long you've been here?" I said thoughtfully.  
  
"No." Yugi said shortly, "That can't be it. I was in the Shadow Realm way longer then this in my duel with Pegasus and nothing like this happened. I almost died that day, and this feeling wasn't anything close to dying."  
  
Our questions were hastily interrupted by a scream. Both Yugi and I stopped dead in our tracks. Blood-curdling screams like that in the middle of nowhere weren't ever a good thing. "What was that?" I asked Yugi, as if he'd know the answer.  
  
"I don't know." Yugi answered, "But someone might need our help."  
  
When he said these words, he instantly dashed off in the direction of the scream with me trailing reluctantly behind him. Why oh why did he choose now to play the hero? I called loudly to him as he sprinted.  
  
"Yugi! We don't know who screamed! Maybe it's some evil guy trying to take over the world or a monster or something that eats people! It could be anyone! A duel monster even! Like the man-eater bug! We don't know who lives in the Shadow Realm! It could be-"  
  
"Caitlin." Yugi finished in awe, stopping again abruptly and causing me to run into him because of his unexpected stop.  
  
He pointed wordlessly at the pair of people about a quarter of a mile away from us. There was nothing for us to hide behind, but the two seemed very much distracted by one another's presence. One was what looked like an old medieval knight minus the shining armor, and the other was a girl about half his age with bright red hair. I recognized the girl at once to be Caitlin, and she looked to be surprisingly thinking very hard about what the knight was talking about. We were too far away to hear what the conversation was featuring, but we weren't too far away to know that that knight person was bad news.  
  
Caitlin relaxed a bit, and I noticed the smirk the spread across her face as one she used right before making a smart remark. I must have been right, because then the knight person reached over and grabbed her roughly by the front of her shirt and thrust her up to his eye level, which unfortunately for Caitlin, was high enough up that her feet were dangling in the air below her. I didn't know whether or not to help her, because Yugi and I didn't have anything to defend ourselves with and there wasn't anything around that could help us.  
  
"You have said enough! Now you can pay with your life girl!" The man bellowed, loud enough for the whole Shadow Realm to hear.  
  
Apparently, Caitlin must have made more then one smart remark and now she looked horrified.  
  
Yugi and I started to move to help her but someone touched us gently on the back.  
  
"Quite a pickle that girl has gotten herself into isn't it?" The voice spoke pleasantly.  
  
We jumped, and turned around to see a girl around our age with cotton candy pink hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, except for one strand, that was braided and hanging by her face. Her eyes were about the color her hair was, and she was smiling broadly with her hands now crossed politely behind her back. She was wearing modern day clothes, a short skirt and a tank top that said 'Help! I'm talking and I can't shut up!' in large (what else?) pink lettering. By the way she was smiling at us, you would think she had known us for her whole life. I didn't know what to say.  
  
"Strange how she seems to enjoy taunting someone older and stronger then she is. And when I say older, I mean OLDER. I wouldn't be surprised if she thought he had just escaped from a costume party, after all she's only been here for about a few hours or something. Oh well, doesn't help that she's already made him really mad. Must have made record time for getting on a Dream Guard's nerves. Well, I guess it's a little late to notice yourself doing that anyway by now huh?" She said again, giggling a little.  
  
She looked closely at our expressions and shook her hand in front of her, "Oh don't worry, she'll be alright. See that thing around her neck? That's what people around here call a Destiny Item. It's called something else in the Physical Realm but we call it a Destiny Item around here because all who wear one play a part in destiny see?"  
  
She was talking so easily with us it was almost confusing to listen to. Did I know her from somewhere?  
  
"Anyway like I was saying this guy Yukio, I'm sure you've heard of him, well he wants these Destiny Items because if you combine a few special ones together he'll be able to do a lot of damage or something strange like that. That guy over there is one of Yukio's cronies and if he kills the wielder of that Destiny Item then he'll be in deep doo doo lemme tell you."  
  
I could see where earned that saying on her T-shirt and I cleared my throat quietly to stop her from talking, "Do I know you?"  
  
She blinked, then laughed, "How silly of me! I forgot to tell you my- anywho! My name's Yoko! I live here and have a few friends, about fifty of them or so. You know, we're all on the same side and all so we're all buddy buddy. But two of my really close friends live here too and I'm sure they'd love to meet you! Sure they're kind of weird but...being weird is kind of the good thing about people you know? Otherwise they'd all be boring."  
  
She held out her hand and I shook it half-heartedly. I could hardly understand anything she was rambling on and on about so instead I just smiled and nodded. She had the biggest grin on her face that I had ever seen, and she shook my hand so forcefully that I almost fell over. Yugi looked loath when she offered her hand, and when he finally tried to shake it she pulled it back and pointed at the area Caitlin was seen in.  
  
"Wow she's really holding her own out there isn't she? I expected her to do well, having a Destiny Item and all but I didn't think she'd be able to stand THAT much of a chance against Hugo." She said, looking at the knight person when she said 'Hugo'. "Hugo is one of the most hot-tempered guys Yukio's got and I'm sure if she knew that Hugo wasn't going to kill her then she would stop moving around like that because it's only getting her into more trouble. Thina, Bryac, Darren and the whole crew would save her if she got captured so she doesn't have to worry. My, she certainly isn't the most graceful person in the world is she?"  
  
It was true, Caitlin was now on the ground in front of the Hugo person. The tiniest trickle of blood was across her arm and she was covered in dirt. Hugo looked very angry and before I could truly understand what was going on, he did something with his hands and shouted something at the top of his lungs, although I couldn't make out what it was. At his command, a ball of red light seemed to came out of his fingers and straight at Caitlin.  
  
"Uh oh spegettios." Yoko said quietly, "That wasn't very nice of him."  
  
I was in utter amazement and full confusion. I had seen magic before, my Yami did it all the time, but it wasn't magic like THIS was. I had NEVER seen Bakura make a light ball come out of his fingers and I didn't think that Yugi's Yami could do it either. Yoko seemed to be overall enjoying the show, and she kept smiling and cocking her head to each side. I didn't know what was wrong with that girl, but she didn't seem at all normal to me. And I should know, I'm not exactly normal myself.  
  
What stunned me more then the ball of light did, was that Caitlin put her hands up in front of her face to shield herself and when the ball hit her hands, it was sent right back at Hugo and he fell to the ground right then. Caitlin looked half amazed that she did what she did, and half aghast that Hugo fell to the ground like that. She lowered her hands very slowly.  
  
"See?" Yoko chirped, "What did I tell you? She's fine."  
  
We all watched intently as Caitlin started to get up. To check that Hugo wasn't dead, I was sure. But she fell down again almost instantly and landed face first in the dirt with no struggle to get up. This time, we all took action and ran down to when she was lying.  
  
"Caitlin!" Yugi and I yelled.  
  
She turned her head a little and looked straight at us, but then her eyes closed. Yoko bent down at once and touched the amulet carefully. Then she felt her pulse and let out a relieved breath of air. "She's just out of energy. I don't think she meant to do that deflecting spell. Poor little thing." She clicked her tongue in a motherly way.  
  
"Spell?" Yugi said, "I didn't know it was possible to do spells."  
  
"Oh yeah, welcome to the Dream Realm kid, where everything is possible and possibility is everything. Wait..." She ran over the thing again in her head, "Yes, everything is possible and possibility is everything. Yes, that's it. We have GOT to change the motto!"  
  
She giggled, "Everyone here has to know some kind of way to defend themselves and here, most people decide to use magic. It's a whole lot easier to do magic here then it is in the Physical Realm for some reason, and it's very popular. Hugo over there is just knocked out, if he was dead he would disintegrate you know?" She rambled quietly about random things, hoisting Caitlin over her shoulder. This surprised me because Yoko didn't look like a very strong person, so I took it to mean that Yoko herself had learned some magic.  
  
"Where are you taking her?" I asked, just now noticing that Yoko was carrying her away somewhere.  
  
Yoko shrugged, which was a hard thing to do with someone over your shoulder, "Anywhere but here, if news got out that the third bearer of the Destiny item was in the Dream Realm people will be showing up all over this area trying to find her."  
  
"People, so there are more people living here?"  
  
"Oh yes, loads and loads of people. Maybe around a few million in the overall population?" She almost dropped Caitlin onto the ground so I went over to her.  
  
"Here, let me help you." I said, grabbing half of the unconscious Caitlin and trying to hold her up.  
  
It was a mistake, because as soon as I took hold Yoko dropped her end and gawked at me. I followed her vision to see what was the matter, and almost dropped my side as well. Sticking out, just enough to see, from my jacket was my Millenium Ring. I hurriedly tucked it away with a free hand but the damage was already done. Yoko bit her lip and glanced at Yugi, who took a step backward and a glint of gold was seen from under his shirt as well.  
  
"Three." She whispered under her breath, "Three of the Destiny item holders. One to seek revenge in the beetle, one of which thieves can only dream of, and the last of gold to match the Pharaoh. The items of the sun, the beetle and the pharaoh. All three bring about the end."  
  
We said nothing for a while, unsure whether or not Yoko seeing our items was a mistake, or a HUGE mistake. She finally snapped back to her regular train of thought and pulled a small vial of black liquid from her skirt pocket. She handed it to Yugi and told him to use that liquid to treat the wounds on Caitlin's arm. Then she turned and started to run off in the direction of what looked like a large forest.  
  
"I have to talk to my friend! Right now it's an emergency I'm afraid!" She yelled to us from afar. "Please be careful what you do and who you talk to! In fact, don't talk to anyone! I'll be back as soon as humanly possible but- oh- I just can't stress to you how much you need to keep those Destiny items hidden because if anyone else were to find out on the wrong side...oh boy oh boy oh boy I really have to tell Bryac the destined ones are all here! All of them! He isn't going to like this at all!"  
  
She left us then, disappearing into the dark forest in a great rush leaving us in the middle of nowhere still with no idea where exactly we where, or why the items we held were so important. I could only pray that this Yoko girl was trustworthy, because she was the only help we had at the moment. Yugi and I stood there, stunned for a moment, but decided it was a good idea to get away from where the guard person was...out like a light. Because a black barren plain of nothingness and colored smoke wasn't my idea of a good place to head, we started off into the forest of the Dream Realm, unconscious girl slung over my shoulder.  
  
This was certainly turning out to be an interesting trip.  
  
@*@*@*@*@*@  
  
Author- There, now we're past the boring parts. Everything is going to be fun and interesting from here on! ^^ I'm going to have a lot of fun with the next chapter. *evil grins* The Yami's first day of being mortal again. Please R&R telling me what you think about my story so far! Thanx people! 


	6. Of Yami's, and High School

Author- Next chappy, now R&R...uh...after you read would be good. ^^;  
  
Meaningless note- So far in the last week, I've had TONS of inspiration and have thought of TONS of plot twists and cliffhangers. I have the whole ending planned out, and I can tell you all that there is NO WAY that you'll know how this thing ends! :) But enough of the end, on to the...beginning. -.-; I've got lots of work to do...  
  
*^-^*. *^-^*. *^-^*  
  
[ ^____^ Little happy faces!]  
  
The Pharaoh and I had quite an adventure yesterday. Both our hikari aibous [1] had left their own bodies and were currently somewhere in the Shadow Realm. I didn't know if they were even still alive or not, and frankly, that didn't exactly put me in a good mood. Ryou-chan and I might not always get along, but I still cared about what happened to him. As in I didn't want him dead before I could kill him myself. The Pharaoh was feeling about the same way about his hikari, and I could tell, because he hadn't said one cocky, big-headed thing to me the entire time since we had the removal of our hosts.  
  
It was good to have my own body at last, I could do anything I wanted now. I didn't have to consult my light, or have to worry about him finding something out that I didn't want him to. I could eat what I wanted, spite the Pharaoh, go wherever I wanted, anything! But there were three catches. The Pharaoh had pointed out a few good points last night, all of which were very infuriating. First of all, he said that we would need to go to that damn mortal school of Ryou and Yugi's to keep a low profile and not get our aibou's expelled. Second, he said we shouldn't do anything out of character in case people got suspicious. That one was the one that really ticked me off. I was practically the opposite of my hikari! I COULD act like him alright, I had done it many times before in Battle City and Duelist Kingdom, but the whole fun of having my own body was the availability to be MYSELF. I didn't like being a wuss!  
  
That third catch was also frustrating. Once Yami had gone home, I was all alone in that big house of Ryou's. It was unbearably boring. I didn't have anyone to taunt, or to yell at, or to play Duel Monsters against, hell, I would do for someone to TALK to! And I didn't like to talk very much, so I hope that tells you that I was REALLY bored out of my mind. I didn't know how to work anything in the house, and I found out very quickly that I couldn't go through doors or walls anymore. It was also agitating that I was the one who had to feel all the pain that occurred. Usually, I just let my hikari take the damage or something, he doesn't dare object to it either. But without a Ryou, there was no one to take the pain that I felt when I got a paper cut on those stupid magazines mortals have when I was looking through it. I ripped up that magazine when it cut me, and without something to look at, I was once again, bored.  
  
I was already sick of being mortal again and I hadn't even experienced one day of it! Being very angry at everything in the house at the moment, I decided to just go to sleep so I didn't have to stand being bored any longer. Sleep wasn't as easy as Ryou made it look. It took me forever to get tired and fall asleep, and it seemed as soon as I did, everything got light again. I searched Ryou's memory and found the word, 'sun'.  
  
"Damn sun." I grumbled, pulling the covers over my head, trying to block out the light that washed the room.  
  
I thought I had won over the sun, even though it was hot and stuffy under the covers on the bed, and I was content with my victory. Thinking I could finally get to sleep, I shut my eyes and rolled over. Then, there was a loud, hard, knocking coming from my front door. I let out a yell to help get rid of my anger.  
  
"WHO EVER IS AT THE DOOR IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!" I shouted.  
  
Another hard knock that went on longer then the first, then that accursed door bell dinged repeatedly in some order that appeared to be a song. Oh yes, they were going to pay dearly. I struggled out of the covers on the bed that were wrapped tightly around me because of all the tossing and turning I had done during the night. Growling, I sat up, and took a step forward only to trip on the covers still wrapped around my feet and fall flat on my face.  
  
I grumbled louder and ripped the sheets off of my legs, still laying on the floor. I could only thank the gods that the Pharaoh and the Scribe weren't there to see me fall like that. Another knock, this one from my window. My heart almost stopped when I looked to see none other then the Pharaoh and the Scribe, standing right there, looking in at me with smirks on their faces.  
  
The gods are plotting against me! I wanted to rip their heads off, but was in too much shock to get up and yell at them. The Scribe grinned sheepishly and waved somewhat nervously at me, which influenced me to jump to my feet at last and slam on the window with my hand to scare them away.  
  
They didn't seem to notice or care, which pissed me off. The Scribe laughed and whispered something to the Pharaoh, pointing at me. Confused, I looked to see what was wrong. My face turned blood red as I finally realized I was only in my bright blue boxers. I shouted various Egyptian curses at them, mostly Cami, but both of them instead burst into hysterics. I was now red with embarrassment and anger, mostly anger now. I wasn't so much as embarrassed that they saw me without a shirt. I didn't really give a damn about that, I couldn't help it if I had a sexy chest. I was angry that they snuck up on me like that and THEN saw me.  
  
Throwing my hands up into the air, I retreated into Ryou's closet and pulled on his stupid sweater and school uniform because that was practically the only thing in his whole collection of clothes. I was ashamed to call him my aibou. Seriously, how did I get stuck with the wimp? At least the Pharaoh's hikari had decent items of clothing that didn't make him look like a nerd. Like sweaters and buttons on everything, really who in their right mind wears those things anymore! I silently decided to burn all of Ryou's clothes later.  
  
I heard the door bell once more when I finished dressing and swung open the front door forcefully, glaring at the Pharaoh and the Scribe again, who must have run around the side of the house to stand again at the front door. The Scribe still had a red face from laughing so hard, and I would have had to hurt him if the Pharaoh didn't start talking at the moment.  
  
"We had better get over to the High School." He said.  
  
"I don't see what the rush is." I replied icily.  
  
"Yami here says that we should try and keep up with our hikari's studies so they don't fall behind. I don't see what good we'll do though..." Cami said, his face turning back to it's regular color. "I don't even know what 'math' is!" He said, holding up a random book that said, 'Vocabulary' in large letters on it. And HE was the scribe...  
  
"Why do we even have to get up this early anyway!" I snapped back at them. "You woke me up!"  
  
"That was the general idea." Yami said.  
  
"You slept in too late. If you didn't wake up look then we'd miss the bus. Which happened anyway let me make that known. Didn't your alarm clock go off? I'm sure Ryou has one of those, I've seen it before, and even Caitlin has one. It should have woken you up early enough. It's that little thing that has weird characters that are 'numbers' on them." Cami asked, innocently enough to get on my nerves.  
  
"I know what an alarm clock is!" I barked.  
  
"Then why weren't you awake!"  
  
I paused, trying to remember what I did when that THING went off. I was still half asleep when it buzzed, so it was hard to reminisce what happened exactly, but I finally recalled the incident. "I couldn't figure out how to turn it off, and in the process, found out what hammers are good for."  
  
I smirked, and Cami slapped his forehead. Yami started talking about school again. I didn't pay much attention to him though, that's one good thing I've learned how to do over the years. It's a very useful skill to be able to block out things you don't want to hear, and I didn't want to hear all about going to school because it wasn't my idea to go.  
  
Here is my school for the day.  
  
Lack of sleep + Mortal Bakura = Not happy Bakura  
  
Not happy Bakura + School = Nobody's happy.  
  
"Why couldn't we have just skipped going through with this?" I grunted, trying to shut that Pharaoh up, "The Scribe skipped school yesterday and nobody cared."  
  
"And I would have today too." Cami said, glaring at Yami, "It was all Mr. Lets do this Right that woke me up this morning and dragged me over here to wake you up and drag you to school with him. I was perfectly fine just staying home from the school place yesterday! But NOOOO, Yami says we've got to go to school."  
  
It was then that I noticed everyone was wearing a school uniform except for Cami. He was wearing a very odd combination of colors with a shirt that had English symbols on it. I mentally laughed at him, imagining his pain. I might not be a fashion expert, but I knew for a fact that those were very feminine clothes he was wearing. Because his aibou was a girl and he was a boy, it could raise some problems.  
  
Perfect.  
  
Yami looked at his watch, "School will start pretty soon, we'd better get going."  
  
Cami raised an eyebrow, "You can actually read that thing?"  
  
Yami nodded, "I have access to Yugi's memories and Yugi could read a watch, so I can too."  
  
"Kewlness!" Cami exclaimed, blanking out a bit so I knew he was searching Caitlin's memories for any bit of interesting info.  
  
My eye twitched slightly at mention to that strange word, "Kewlness?"  
  
Cami beamed, "Hai! [2] It's my new word! Hey did you know that Lindsey J. kissed the football team captain?"  
  
Yami was confused, "Who's Lindsey J.?"  
  
He shrugged, "I dunno, but it's gossip enough for me!"  
  
I scoffed, he was a pathetic accuse for a Yami. He was so different from the rest of us, and somehow managed to fit in every time. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something not quite right about him, therefore, we didn't converse, and we pretty much always went our separate ways. I was dark and mysterious, Cami was almost always happy about something, and he couldn't keep a secret to save his life which he now had. Unfortunately, that was going to have to change in the future.  
  
After getting lost about four times, we finally made it to the High School that Ryou, Yugi, and Caitlin attended. It was large, filled with people, and looked like the perfect place to start trouble. I was starting to like the idea of school. The hallways were large, filled with people, and also looked like a good place to start trouble, much like the outside. The classroom we were supposed to be in, was large, filled with people, and another candidate for trouble, much like the outside, and the hallways. School was starting to bore me already, and that was before the teacher even started to speak.  
  
"Good morning class, and welcome back to your history class." He droned, dropping his books on the desk and spotting all of us still standing and inspecting the room. Putting his hands on his hips, he started to scold us about taking our seats before class started. At least, I thought he was mad at us, his voice didn't change at all. Frankly, I didn't care that much, and sat at the desk nearest me with a last glare at the teacher for drawing attention to me when I hadn't even been there for five minutes yet.  
  
I glanced to my left and saw a group of giggling girls, whispering in a little cluster sending glimpses my way and grinning. Ugh, girls. I was uninterested back in Egypt and I am uninterested now. They always get in the way when you are trying to do useful things, like stealing, and dueling, and others of the sort. I rolled my eyes when one particularly chunky girl batted her eyes at me and blew a sort of kiss. Cami was very hurt and confused as yet another group of girls started to flirt with the Pharaoh from afar, and he was left alone. Huffing a little, he slumped into his chair muttering something that would probably earn him a ticket to the Shadow Realm to join his hikari had he been loud enough for me to hear him.  
  
"Please take out a sheet of paper and get it ready for a pop quiz on the American Revolution. Quickly class, and I hope you studied."  
  
Everyone took out a sheet of note paper and scratched something down with what Ryou's memory recalled as, 'Pencils.' I did my best to follow what they were doing and stay cool about it. I leaned over a bit to read off a paper that belonged to a girl sitting next to me. I copied the markings onto my own paper with a satisfied smirk. I looked to see how the Pharaoh and the Scribe were doing. Funny how something that seemed to simple could cause us so many problems. The Pharaoh was fine with the whole thing, and wrote down everything with ease, which annoyed me. Then I noticed that he too was copying his neighbor and that made me feel better. Cami was really struggling, and starting to freak out. He kept grabbing at his hair, which was considerably shorter then mine even though it was his aibou that was a girl, and he kept erasing what he wrote. HE was the scribe out of all of us too...sad.  
  
"Number your paper one through twenty-five and open your books to page thirty nine. You should find the questions in there. You have until the timer goes off, starting now." He mumbled, starting what looked to be a kitchen timer on the desk.  
  
Everyone started at once, and I opened my book. There were strange characters all over the pages, and I couldn't understand one damn word of it. It was intimidating to have everyone around you start writing while you were staring at the page with no idea what it said. Cami, who was sitting on my right side, was my only hope. I leaned over to him and put on my best evil voice.  
  
"What do the pages say scribe?" I hissed.  
  
He jumped from my sudden question and turned pale. Cami was not one to stay calm under pressure, and sadly, he caved in rather easily. Turning back to the book, he flipped through the book once more, whispering to himself in Egyptian and doing the best to figure this out. His best wasn't good enough though. I hissed at him again so he knew how much of a hurry I was in.  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"I-I d-don't know!" He whimpered, "This is not my area of expertise! This book isn't in Egyptian at all and I c-can't read it!"  
  
"You have to be able to understand some of it!" The Pharaoh's voice whispered from his seat behind the two of us.  
  
"No!" Cami said, shaking his head, "I THINK this is page 39 but there isn't any way to be positive."  
  
Scribes, never useful when you needed them to be. It was time to put my backup plan into action. I looked into Ryou's memories of History Class. In order to find a memory, you have to first break into your host's soul room and then find where their memories are hidden. His soul room was easy enough to enter, but his memories of school were under lock and key! I could enter his memories of almost everything else, but his school memories were locked away separately and I couldn't get in. He was probably afraid I would find out what 'goody goody' crap he was doing all day. It was quite a let-down, and I made a mental note to 'talk' it over with my aibou when he returned.  
  
Cami wasn't paying attention to any of this, and I assumed he hadn't even tried to get into his aibou's memories yet. I noticed his paper was now written in completely Egyptian Hieroglyphs and I didn't have the heart to tell him that he had said both answers 8 and 15 were 'man-eating chocolate pieces'. Well, it's not that I didn't have a heart, it's that I didn't care what he got.  
  
"Why can't you guys read! You are the 'Champion Duelists'!"  
  
The Pharaoh cringed, I chose not to answer the question.  
  
"I...I've memorized the cards." He said quietly, looking down at his feet in an ashamed fashion, "I know their names and what they do by their pictures."  
  
Oh this was too much! I wasn't saying that I had also taken to memorizing what the cards in my deck did and were called in Japanese, but what else were you supposed to do in a millenium item? It was quite entertaining to hear the All Powerful Pharaoh confess that he couldn't read the Duel Monster cards. I held my laughter for another time though, because the teacher kept sending suspicious glances our way when we spoke. I guess he thought we were being 'disruptive', poor simple-minded teachers...  
  
"I can't believe this...just my luck that the day I come back I have to do a test...and none of my friends can read!" Cami mumbled under his breath, stopping the conversation and attacking the pop quiz once more.  
  
Having given up with trying to get anything from a stressed scribe, The Pharaoh and I both went back to trying to come up with another way to ace the test. Suddenly, I was hit with inspiration that only comes from thousands of years being a Thief and a Strategist. Writing down some fake characters, I picked up my paper and got up from my seat. Cami grabbed my hand and asked under his breath, 'What are you doing!?' I only grinned and answered, 'Watch, but don't follow my lead.'  
  
I casually walked over to the Teacher's desk and placed my paper on the pile of papers some students before me had already turned in. I smiled and tried to act best I could like Ryou, which killed me, because I wanted to murder the teacher for making me go through with that torturous test. Then, when he was explaining what a question was asking for to a student, I grabbed the paper from the pile and slipped it into my pocket without him even noticing. I sneered at Cami, who was gaping at me with his eyes almost as big as golf balls from watching me pull something like that off, and he rushed over to me after dropping his own paper off. Yami glared at us as he looked from his neighbor's paper to his own, trying to copy the exact words in a good time. I laughed quietly at the thought of the almighty Pharaoh, the King Of Games, having to cheat on a High School pop quiz.  
  
Just that thought was worth the whole rest of the day. We discreetly cheated at every test we were hit at that day, we watched a movie for one class, and dissected a frog in biology when Cami unexpectedly fainted. I kept as many of the frog parts as I could, they could come in handy later on. I found out why Ryou isn't always, 'happy' to go to school in the morning. It is one of the most boring, useless things I have ever experienced. I was going to have a nice little collection of teacher dolls by the time Ryou got back. Although, I couldn't turn any of them into dolls when I wanted to, because for some reason, my Ring  
  
was almost powerless when I tried to use it. That was yet another stain on my day. The only break we got from torture was at lunch.  
  
"So, we go to this 'school' for hours and do tons of work, and then we have to go home and do MORE work for hours? When's a guy supposed to have time to eat with that kind of schedule!?" Cami complained, looking at his notes on the back of a paper.  
  
"Does anyone have a clue what this is?" The Pharaoh said, poking the meal in front of him with a fork.  
  
Set in front of all three of us, was a tray of some kind of food they called, 'Macaroni and Cheese.' I tried it once after I bought it, spit it out, and haven't touched it since then. It was Joey, Tea, and the Tristen person's idea to buy this crap, and being hungry, I ignorantly took their advice and bought lunch with the money Joey leant us. The 'Macaroni' was a yellowish brown, chunky, and it looked like it was about three years old. The taste matched. Cami grimaced at the very sight of it as soon as the devil these mortals call 'The Lunch Lady' put it on his plate. He didn't even try it before pushing it aside. So there sat the macaroni, cold and forgotten among the other food items that we decided were 'inedible'.  
  
Joey, Tristen, and Tea saw us and sat right down at out table. How I despised those mortals. They all had almost identical food items on their trays, and the Joey kid didn't even throw up when he swallowed a whole forkful of it.  
  
"Hi guys!" Tea said, starting to stir her 'food' with a spoon, "How's everything going?"  
  
"Not so good..." Cami grunted, "Mrs. Teacher said he needed to talk to me after class when I couldn't read a paragraph out of that stupid Math book. Numbers confuse me. And Mr. Teacher said he needed to see me after class when I fainted at the sight of a frog being pulled apart. Both of them scolded me, but said they'd give me one more chance or something. It wasn't my fault Bakura explained what he was doing to that frog in precise detail!"  
  
Ah, the frog. A gory source of all that could disgust anyone of weak stomach. Frogs are one of the most useful animals on this planet, even when they are dead. I smirked at the very memory of ripping off it's skin and watching as the blood-  
  
"Too bad, hey don't tell me you aren't going to eat that?" Tristen inquired, pointing his yellowed utensil at out plates of 'food.'  
  
Yami was shocked, "I wouldn't eat this if it meant my life. I've seen more edible food in a garbage can."  
  
Tristen and Joey exchanged excited looks, then simultaneously grabbed our Macaroni and started to shovel the food into their mouths. They were like human garbage disposals, pulling the plate up closer to their mouths so the food didn't have to travel as far until it was in their mouths. Yami looked a little green, and Tea giggled.  
  
"You have got to be kidding! This is practically the only descent food they serve here!" She laughed, politely eating her own meal at a much slower pace.  
  
I wasn't sure it Yami had told Tea, Joey, and Tristen that we had all become mortal or not, so I wasn't sure if I should act like Ryou or myself. Instead, I watched the race between Joey and Tristen eating in silence. By the time lunch was almost over, Tristen and Joey had both finished two and a half plates full of food, while Tea had only just finished her one. We still had about thirty minutes of lunch break left, so we took it upon ourselves to wander the hallways looking around until our next class.  
  
After about twelve minutes of wandering, I decided to skip the adventure and head for an area where I could be alone with my thoughts. It hadn't been long, but easily twenty girls, and, much to my horror, one boy, had already flirted with me. I hoped that the Pharaoh and the Scribe were having as much trouble with school as I was, because it was their brilliant idea to come here in the first place. The clock struck 12:20, and I started to make my way over to the classroom Tea instructed us to go to. But I was sidetracked, when a hand reached out and grabbed a handful of my hair. MY hair.  
  
They had no right to do that, I turned around and gave my best glare to the boy standing behind me, who was almost two times as big as I was. He had a messy patch of brown curly hair sitting on the top of his head, and his gray eyes flashed angrily at me. Two boys, who looked almost identical but younger and smaller, stood next to him, and their presence made him look even bigger then he was. His size might have intimidated many other kids, but size didn't matter to me.  
  
He pulled my hair. And NO ONE pulls my hair and gets away with it.  
  
~@~@~@~@~  
  
Author- ^^ There, my first chapter with mortal Bakura, Yami, and Cami. *shrug* Sorta a cliffhanger. Oh! And as you probably have noticed, I'm going to just stick with the traditional name thing going on with other fanfiction writers.  
  
Bakura- Ryou's Yami  
  
Yami- Yugi's Yami (yes, I know it's kind of weird to have everyone else call him Yami, but I didn't want to call him Yugi because that might get confusing. *shrug*)  
  
Cami- Caitlin's Yami, yes, pronounced like Kami. (There was a little moment in one of my past fanfics that explained that better. Cami had already gotten attached to that name when they told him it meant God in Japanese, but he said he didn't want to be god, just Cami. So, there is the background story behind that. ^^)  
  
Ryou, Caitlin, and Yugi- The Lights  
  
[1] Most people don't use these two together, so I'm worried I used them in grammatical error and messed up the language somehow. But what I was aiming for, was "Light Partner"s. Hikari means Light and Aibou means Partner. Again, if I used this the wrong way I'm sorry, and just tell me and I'll fix it. Arigato!  
  
[2] Hai- Yes  
  
~RANDOM THOUGHT MOMENT, NOT IMPORTANT~  
  
I was thinking, why does the name Ryou always sound a whole lot more...innocent? And who was the first person to use that system where Ryou is the good one and Bakura is the bad? Because in the one episode where Bakura's Yami turns everyone into their favorite cards, this is what he says.  
  
Yugi's Yami- Bakura, why have you brought us to the Shadow Realm? (something like that)  
  
Bakura's Yami- Ah, Bakura. Bakura is gone. (Note that when he says Bakura, he says it like Bah-Koo-Ra. It sounds cooler when he says it that way! ^^)  
  
I think that's all you need. Point is, he says it like the system should be the other way around. Like HE should be the one called Ryou. This has been a random thought moment. I don't expect to do anything with this thought, if you'd like to respond with a rant or something to my random thought, then go ahead and e-mail me! ^^ I like hearing opinions.  
  
=(^._.^)= ...Retaw...  
  
*AWW! KITTY!* 


	7. Bryac

Well, here's another chapter, hot off the press. ^^ I hope you liked that last chapter! It took me a while to figure everything out. So, now we're back to trouble and turmoil in the new Realm.  
  
Just so you remember, Ryou and Yugi have arrived and are now stuck with an unconscious Caitlin, and the only person they think they can trust is a talkative girl whose name is Yoko. I don't know if I've already said this, but I don't think I'm going to pair anyone with anyone in particular, but if you'd like to see me pair someone with someone else. It doesn't matter who, I just would rather it not be Yaoi whatever it is. Remember that the Yami's are in control in the regular realm, and if you want to pair them with someone, I'll consider that too. Just review with an idea and I'll see what I can do. ^^ So...here we go with yet another chapter.  
  
^&*^&*^&*^&*  
  
I awoke to the feeling of leaves underneath my body and hands, cradling me like a bed. They might be itchy, scratchy, and really annoying, but if you can ignore that, there is a certain sensation of pure serenity that only comes from being in this sort of situation. I took a deep breath of clean air. Maybe that whole thing was a dream. A terrible, horrible dream that I had about being trapped and attacked by magical balls of light that I was able to shoot back at him with my bear hands. Yea, that was it. Come to think about it, the whole thing was too whimsical to be even remotely real. The smell of burning wood wafted over to me, and I was happy to note that there wasn't anything cooking on it. Preferably me. But I was hungry...maybe this was a campout?  
  
"Ok, I think that I've almost got it..."  
  
"No wait, you're holding the branch the wrong way."  
  
"Why don't you use your hands to keep the wind from blowing it out alright?"  
  
"Good idea, oh look!"  
  
"Finally! Our second fire of the day!"  
  
"Now if one goes out, then we have another one."  
  
"Yup..."  
  
A beat. A bird called in the distance and I heard one sigh.  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"I...uh...how about we make a third fire in case the first two go out?"  
  
"Yes. Let us do that."  
  
People. So it wasn't a dream. I refused to open my eyes for fear of what I might see. Although, they didn't sound menacing or bloodthirsty, they just sounded...normal. I listened to the two voices for some clues as to where I was. They sounded sort of familiar, but I couldn't be completely sure who they were.  
  
"I wish that one Yoko girl would come back. Being alone in a new world with no idea what is edible or not isn't ever a good thing."  
  
"Yes, but I can't help wonder if we should trust her. Maybe we're better off on our own."  
  
I DID recognize those voices! I can't place exactly where, but I know that I've heard them before! I stirred a little on my bed of ground and the talking stopped. I froze, afraid I had attracted their attention and they weren't good people or something. What surprised me, was that then, I heard one of them laugh.  
  
"It's quite alright you know, we'd rather have you awake anyway."  
  
I opened my eyes the tiniest bit to see who spoke, but couldn't see much through my hair. Curses! Why did my hair have to be so very thick! I opened my eyes a little more and saw two people sitting down in front of a very sad looking fire that was about the size of a basketball, and an identical fire right next to it. I could now tell that they were both looking at me, so I shut my eyes tightly again. More laughter, I was started to get frustrated. I heard them move somewhere so I peeked again at the two, but they weren't where they were sitting before. Confused and panicky, I started to look around all over the area to see where they went. Then my vision lingered up a little and-  
  
"About time you got up."  
  
I jumped a little and gave up hiding. There was a huge face right above me that took me by surprise. Pushing the hair out from my eyes, I stared back up at none other then Yugi Motou, and slightly behind him, Ryou Bakura. They both grinned at me, and I couldn't help feeling very amazed.  
  
"Yugi! Ryou!" I exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing here!"  
  
Another laugh. I really wasn't in the mood, and as sad as it was to be thinking about it, I wanted to strangle them for laughing at me. Yugi was the first that answered my question.  
  
"I'm glad we found you. When your Yami told us where you were and you didn't come back we started to get worried. We came after you because Yami seemed very worried about something concerning this place."  
  
I had forgotten about Cami! I didn't know what happened to him, because he certainly wasn't with me; "How is my Yami doing?"  
  
Ryou cast a hesitant glance Yugi's way, "Well, with you gone, your Yami has sort of, taken control."  
  
I felt my jaw drop, "WHAT!? Control of what, my body!?"  
  
Yugi nodded, "It's ok though, when we came after you our Yami's took over our bodies too, so at least Cami would have help."  
  
And this was supposed to make me feel better? The fact that my Yami was with one tomb robber and a control freak? Sure, Yugi's Yami wasn't as bad, but RYOU'S Yami was going to be a very bad influence on Cami. I didn't say anything though, it wasn't like they could do anything about it now anyway.  
  
Yugi continued "Turns out this place is a direct branch of the Shadow Realm, and we were able to find the gate and get to you."  
  
"But how-"  
  
I sat up, which was a stupid thing to do. I felt a sharp stab of sudden pain on my arm and yelped in pain, lying back down. So it wasn't a dream after all, I was positive now. I had forgotten about the cut I had that the knight person did to me. I didn't know why it hurt so much, it was just a sword, but sword or not I couldn't sit up straight without hurting. Yugi pulled a vial of this black liquid stuff from his pocket.  
  
"Here, a...friend told me to put this on your arm." He said, uncorking it and pouring it all over my arm without warning.  
  
It soaked in as soon as it touched my skin, and the pain didn't come too far after that. It was like when someone would say, 'This won't hurt' and it seems to hurt even more then it would have if they had kept their trap shut. It stung almost as much, probably more, then the cut itself. I pounded on the ground with my fist and did my best to bite my lip and not scream because of the intense cold feeling. It was like they were freezing my arm into an ice cube or something! It kept getting colder, until it was so cold it was hot.  
  
"It burns, it burns, it burns..." I whimpered repeatedly, each time getting faster and louder until I was practically yelling at Yugi for putting this stuff on me, "IT BURNS!"  
  
"I'm sorry!" Yugi said, drawing back a bit at my sudden outburst, "I didn't know!"  
  
Luckily, the pain faded over a while, and miraculously, there was no evidence left at all that the cut had ever been there. I sighed, and smiled because it was all over. Then I turned to Ryou and Yugi again, who were relieved I didn't yell at them for putting me through that. I wasn't in the mood to yell either, I was in the mood to find out where I was, and how to get out. NOW.  
  
"How long have I been...out of it?" I asked.  
  
"Only about an hour, but one can't know for sure." Ryou said, looking up at the sky, "It's strange, the sky keeps turning different colors but the sun in the sky hasn't moved at all since we've been here."  
  
"Oh..." Is it some kind of rule that I can't get ANY good news?  
  
"We made a fire!" Yugi said proudly, jerking his thumb at the two tiny flames that were already dying, "It took us forever, but hey!"  
  
Oh yeah, that news made up for everything else. I couldn't help laugh at his attempt though, "Uh, good, a fire could be very...handy."  
  
"That's what I thought, but they seem to be more work to make one then they're good for." Ryou said sadly, watching as one flickered out.  
  
"So do any of you have any idea how to get out of here?" I said, "I mean, if you came to rescue me do you have some sort of rescue plan?"  
  
They shook their heads.  
  
Great. Figures don't it? I've got a rescue team that doesn't even know how to rescue me. I was sorry that they just ended up stranding themselves in an effort to save me, but they should at LEAST know something about where they're going.  
  
"Do you know anything useful about the Dream Realm?" I spoke.  
  
"Nothing more then you do I'm afraid." Ryou sighed, "We didn't think that it would be a sort of place like this, we thought it would be easier to get out."  
  
This just keeps getting better and better. Even though it was hard to balance, and my legs felt like Jell-O, I had to find something out about this place before...I don't know- we starve to death? I got up off the ground and picked up a long stick. "I'm going to have a quick look around ok? I'll be back in ten minutes, I promise, but if you don't see me by then or so, then you can worry. But not a second before then ok? I'll be fine."  
  
Something about how I said that made me feel like I was talking to children, so I ended with a playful wink and headed out into the forest around us.  
  
It was strange, the whole place. You wouldn't expect to find something like this in the Shadow Realm. I mean, this was a lush forest filled with the usual animals and plants, even though some were new, and it felt like the whole thing could go on forever! This forest, was in the middle of a barren wasteland. It was so quiet, and even stepping on a twig made you feel like you were letting off a cannon. I decided to make my way over to the lake I had seen before. That looked like a nice place to set up camp. So I didn't get lost, I broke down some branches on my way to follow.  
  
A girl could get used to this. COULD being the keyword. I didn't WANT to get used to this, I wanted to go home. But, it was beautiful out here, like your own private paradise! What I saw ahead, added to my astonishment. It was a piece of land that took a steep decline into a small creek at the end. [1] It was a very pretty looking creek, and it sparkled in the sunlight like something you would see in a fairy tale book. I leaned over a little and looked down at it, marveling at the sight.  
  
"Wow." I whispered, leaning over a little more to see more of the water.  
  
Then, I heard something. The first sound that wasn't my own in this entire outing! It was a splashing noise, like someone was walking down there. I didn't want to run into another person who was intent on killing me with little magic fingers that shot deadly red lights at me. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I turned on my feet and-  
  
Slipped.  
  
I squeaked and flailed my arms around in large circles trying to keep my balance, failed, and tumbled head first down the steep hill into the creek. Luckily, something broke my fall.  
  
A person.  
  
It struggled like crazy when I landed on it, which made it a very bad landing spot, and threw me off it's back face first into the mud. I was happy to see that in the process of throwing me off it's back, it too fell face first into the mud. I resisted the urge to laugh as the person gurgled what sounded like a very wet growl in the mud, and came up gasping for air sending mud flying everywhere.  
  
Now I could see that the person was a boy, about the age I was maybe a tiny bit older. A single red scar ran down his left cheek, and on of his ears were pierced twice and adorned with golden hoops that matched the pure gold looking sword on his side. He had ice blue eyes, and jet black hair that fell to almost his shoulders. Just long enough to look cool, and not just stupid. I felt almost sorry for him, because his face was caked with mud and various twigs and leaves. He glared at me and wiped as much of it off that he could.  
  
"I didn't think," He grumbled, "That girls are supposed to just fall from the sky."  
  
I blushed slightly, "Sorry. I slipped."  
  
"Well be more careful! You're lucky I didn't have enough time to pull out my sword or you'd be in big trouble." He snapped, wobbling to his feet and shaking the water from his hands.  
  
I scowled, "I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to slip you know."  
  
"'Didn't mean to' and DID are two entirely different things."  
  
Oooh he was started to get on my nerves. First person I met, and he was good at getting on my nerves. He didn't even offer to help me up or anything, he just sloshed his way over to the hill that I rolled down from and started to climb it like a rock-climbing wall. I didn't want to be left behind, and I wanted to get some information from him, so I climbed up after him.  
  
"Wait!" I called, "I need your help! See me and my two friends are stuck here and we can't get out of wherever this place is."  
  
"You aren't going to get out, it's impossible." He replied icily, "Once you're here, you're here. Might as well make yourself comfortable."  
  
"But there HAS to be some way! Could you please help us! At least give us some tips, or some food or something?"  
  
"I don't even know you!"  
  
"My name's Caitlin, what's your name?" I said, as cheerfully as my temper would allow.  
  
He turned and looked at me in disbelief, "Bryac if it will shut you up."  
  
"Bryac huh? Man, that's a weird name isn't it, very unusual. Did you get made fun of when you were a kid?"  
  
"Apparently not."  
  
I opened my mouth to speak, and got a mouth full of dirt from Bryac climbing above me. I coughed and sputtered and lost my balance again. With the intentions of grabbing Bryac's leg and being able to keep me up, I grabbed his ankle. My plan backfired and I ended up pulling him back down with me into that creek which wasn't at all as nice and pretty as it was when I was just looking at it. Needles to say, he wasn't happy. He sent me a dirty look again, and I tried my best to ignore it.  
  
"We aren't going anywhere." I said.  
  
Way to be a moron Caitlin. Bryac muttered something under his breath and stormed off away from me, walking in the creek. I slid after him, determined to get some good information from him. Anything would be better then nothing! He didn't appreciate me coming after him and picked up the speed.  
  
"Stop following me!" He snapped, clenching his fists getting faster.  
  
"I NEED HELP SO STOP AND HELP ME!" I yelled back.  
  
"There isn't anything you need to know that's special! Just keep your guard up and do your best to stay fed and hidden. I can't help you, I'm busy!"  
  
"Could you at LEAST tell me what the hell is up with my Millenium Amulet and why someone has tried to kill me for it and who the hell Yukio is!"  
  
Bryac stopped so suddenly that he slipped on the creek mud and ended up in a very painful looking split. I couldn't help it that I felt satisfied by his look of shock. He turned and looked at me, eyes resting on the amulet around my neck, and then cursed many times in many different languages. I bit my lip, wondering if I said something bad or not, and he slowly walked back over to me. He leaned over and whispered in my ear.  
  
"Your name is Caitlin, correct?"  
  
I nodded, not knowing why he was whispering like that.  
  
"Listen to me Caitlin, whatever you do, DO NOT let anyone else see that beetle necklace you have. It is very important to a man of great power, and he will do anything to take it from you. Keep it hidden at all times, do you understand?"  
  
I nodded, shocked at his sudden seriousness. He had one of those voices that when used correctly, could really freak somebody out. I didn't quite understand what he meant entirely, but I didn't dare admit it. I was just going to have to figure everything out along the way. I shivered a bit when he said,  
  
"Good."  
  
And with that, he left me standing there, alone in the creek, sopping wet and covered in mud. I trudged all the way back to where Ryou and Yugi were waiting for me and sat down on a log they had set up by the two fires, which were now, again, lit, and burning. They looked puzzled at my change of mood, and Ryou sat down next to me.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked.  
  
I groaned, "Ryou, I have a feeling we are going to be here a whole lot longer then I planned."  
  
*~*~*  
  
That girl. She has no idea what she's going to have to go through in the future.  
  
I didn't know it at first, I had no idea, but now I'm sure that she is the holder of the Destiny Item of the Beetle. She had mentioned being with two other people, I could only assume that they too, held a Destiny Item.  
  
I felt sorry for them. So confused, and so nieve. I stayed quiet when I met back up with two girls, my friends, in a cave hidden behind thick vines and shrubbery. Yoko and Thina had been waiting for me while I searched for two males who Yoko said, held the item of the Pyramid and the Sun. Yoko smiled when I returned and had an eager look in her eye.  
  
"So? Did you find them?"  
  
I closed my eyes and sat down, "I found the girl you spoke of. The one called Caitlin. The one of the beetle."  
  
"And?"  
  
"She has no clue what's going on."  
  
[A/N: Insert anime sweat drop here *LOL*]  
  
Yoko beamed at the second girl, Thina, "She had red hair and blue eyes right? The one with the Beetle around her neck?"  
  
I nodded, "Yes, and she's a pain to work with."  
  
"She didn't seem to be that hard to work with."  
  
"If your story is true, she was unconscious when you met her. How do you know what she's like?"  
  
"I could just tell, I'm a good judge of character you know. There was a strange vibe about her that intrigued me. I have a feeling that she isn't as bad as she seems to be..."  
  
"You DO realize that you're talking about the one girl who is supposed to bring about the downfall of the Dream Realm don't you? You do realize that you are defending someone who is supposed to kill many souls and send her very friends into a portal of light never to return again?"  
  
"Maybe this is the wrong girl?" Yoko suggested hopefully.  
  
"Yoko, how many girls walk around with an Egyptian Scarab Beetle around their neck bearing the eye of Ra?"  
  
"I know it looks bad but don't we need more proof then that? What ever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?"  
  
I didn't understand. What did Yoko see in Caitlin that I didn't? She was the first one to inform me that the bearer of the Destiny Item of the Beetle was here in the first place and now she was saying that the prophecy might be wrong.  
  
"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked her.  
  
"I just, don't want you to hate her before anything like that happens. I mean, I'm sorry Bryac but you are the champion of hating people before you really know them..."  
  
"I don't do that." I shot back icily.  
  
"It's a prophecy, Bryac, not fact. If it happens, it happens. Right now, I say that we just focus on the problem at hand."  
  
"Which would be?"  
  
Thina lifted her head, and everything went quiet. Thina didn't talk much, only when it was absolutely necessary. So when she was about to speak, everyone stopped to listen. She didn't really call herself anything positive, and some people might call herself pessimistic. In fact, she would have to be Yoko's foil. But 'Blessed and Cursed', if people asked, was all the information she'd share with most people. She didn't like talking much, and for a good reason.  
  
[A/N: But I'm not going to tell you yet! ^^]  
  
"The problem at hand." She said quietly, her voice flowing like soft silk, "You must protect them. The Destiny Bearers await you in the forest, and if Yukio gets a hold of just one of them, victory will be much harder to grasp."  
  
Yoko nodded slowly, taking in all the information, "But we can't protect them alone, especially if Yukio gets wind of them coming and sends his guards after them. And we don't know why they came or what to do with them, we're going to need to get help."  
  
I thought this over, and found that unfortunately, there was only one group that we could go to safely for help in this sort of situation. "Yoko, Thina, get your stuff ready, we're going to have to get going as soon as possible."  
  
Yoko grabbed her black cloak, the only thing citizens could wear nowadays so they didn't get spotted by Yukio himself, "But what are you going to do exactly Bryac?"  
  
"There's only one thing we can do. We're going to have to find them right away."  
  
"And then what?"  
  
"We're going to have to call a meeting, with 'The Alliance'."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author- ^^ I'm worried about four chapters in this story. This chapter is one of them. I think it turned out a whole better then I thought it would, and it came easier to me then I thought it would. I finished in about two hours or so, anyway.  
  
[1] If you're confused what that creek looks like, here's a little drawing thingamabob. I've seen one like this, so that's why I used it!  
  
::: - Top: Where Caitlin was  
:::::  
::::::: ___.::::::::: - Bottom: where the creek is.  
  
Here's a little game type thing, all the names in this story have a meaning, see if you can find out what they mean! You don't have to, I'll tell you eventually, *sly grin* but there are quite a few loopholes you might find if you could find out their name meanings yourself. Again, if you want to vote for a pairing, just put it in the review! Thank ya very much, I'll come up with the next chapter ASAP! 


	8. Battle for the Master Bedroom

Author- Again, I'd like to thank my reviewers! You are the bomb peoples! THE BOMB! ^^ Tell your friends! *LOL* Anyway, so now we're back to the Yami's at school. Now if any of you out there have a suggestion for what you'd like to see a Yami have to do at school, help me out and add it in your review. ^___^ Just come up with something and I'll edit it in, giving you credit of course! Now, I'm going to get back to the chapter.  
  
Author- *sigh* Am I the only one who has trouble thinking of a title for the chapter?  
  
.*.*.*.*.  
  
Bakura, Yami, and I had split up to look around after lunchtime. I quickly discovered that lunch was my best subject, even if I didn't eat anything. I tell you, that Joey and his friend Tristen must have stomachs like steel or something! I wasn't going to touch that 'food' if you'd call it that, unless I was paid for it. Like on that one show I saw last night, were those poor people had to eat food like slugs and cockroaches faster then the others before getting some money? I made me realize that modern day humans were so stupid. Joey and Tristen sure would be good at that game though.  
  
I ran into a wall. Something I did quite often when I was thinking too hard, and rubbed my nose hard succeeding in getting many strange looks. I had been getting a lot of those ever sense I came to school. I couldn't understand why everyone wasn't happy with the way I looked! I took the clothes straight out of Caitlin's closet! I would have taken her uniform, but sadly, there wasn't one. I guess she was going to get one later or something.  
  
Suddenly, I felt a pressure in my abdomen that I hadn't felt in years. I had to take a wiz, and fast. Because I wasn't stupid enough to eat that 'food' which I was sure poisoned or something, (You would too if you saw BAKURA spit it out. I mean that guy eats everything!) I filled up on milk instead. It took a lot of milks to fill me up, so you couldn't blame me. Where did somebody go to the bathroom in this place? It was way too big to search, so I had to ask someone.  
  
"Excuse me, miss?" I called, running over to the first girl my age I saw. She turned around quickly so as to make her brown hair whip across her face and looked at me. Apparently, judging by the look she gave me, she couldn't decide whether I was a girl or a boy at first glance. Although I didn't realize it at the time, my outfit not only didn't match at all, but was VERY feminine. I was wearing a tight pink shirt that said, 'Princess' in large purple letters, and flared green pants with a blue 'C' sewn onto the back pocket. She finally just took me for a very gay idividual and answered with a voice that said clearly, she wasn't exactly comfortable with it.  
  
"Uh...yeah?"  
  
I cracked my knuckles so I'd have something else to concentrate on, "Yes, where might I need to go to find a place to do my business in?"  
  
"...You mean the bathroom?"  
  
"Yeah that, were is it?"  
  
Without taking her eyes off me, she pointed down the hall and said nothing. I smiled and nodded to say I was thankful, but also didn't speak because of the awkwardness of the situation. It wasn't THAT hard of a question. I sprinted down the hall and turned to the left and indeed saw two doors.  
  
Wait, two?  
  
Shoot. Why me!? WHY ME!? Luckily, I saw Yugi's Yami came up behind me. He was wearing that usual look of 'too-cool-for-you' and didn't even smile when he noticed me waving my arms wildly at him to get his attention and aid. Yami knew everything, being the Pharaoh and all, he HAD to know how to slove my problem. He coolly looked from one door to the other, and then at me tapping my foot rapidly trying to hold back natures call.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked, still not smiling.  
  
"I need to go to the bathroom!" I squeaked, now bouncing up and down doing the potty dance.  
  
"Cami, don't you think you're a little old to need someone to help you?" He teased.  
  
Teasing was not something Yami was known for, so if I wasn't so focused on...wetting myself, I would have been amazed.  
  
I bit my lip and tried my best to stop moving, "I-don't-know-which-door!" I stammered.  
  
At this, he looked again at the doors, this time more closely; "And you can't decide which one is the bathroom?"  
  
"No." I answered in a little bit of a whinny tone, "They're both the bathrooms, Caitlin remembers them, but- I don't know which one is for girls and which for boys!"  
  
"Simple solution, just wait and see which comes out of both doors, then you'll know."  
  
It seemed reasonable enough, so I waited with him for about two minutes. That, was the single hardest thing I had to do in my entire life, but yet, I managed. First, a girl who seemed to be in a hurry burst through the one with more symbols on the door, and then a boy from the door with less symbols emerged. [1]  
  
"There you have it." Yugi's Yami said, obviously very pleased with himself, "That one is for girls and the other is for boys."  
  
Although this information was helpful, it only made me grasp that fact that, well, I wasn't either. Yami didn't get this at first and had a puzzled expression when he noticed my eyes wide with horror. He sighed and leaned up against the wall.  
  
"What is the problem now, scribe?"  
  
"I- I'm not- I'm not really..."  
  
"We don't have all day you know. We've still got class to go to."  
  
"Well, I'm supposed to be taking the place of Caitlin for a while and, Caitlin isn't a boy."  
  
He didn't see where I was going with this and arched an eyebrow, "I am fully aware of that."  
  
"But I'M a boy."  
  
He nodded slowly to signal he needed more information then that. I sighed and tried to tell him the whole thing from the beginning again. Gosh, being a mortal human is frustrating work!  
  
"I'm supposed to be posing as Caitlin, and CAITLIN would go into the girls room, but I'm not exactly the same as Caitlin. I, Cami the scribe, am a male, and darn proud of it as well, thank you very much."  
  
He blinked, "Well...I can't help you there."  
  
And without so much as a warning, he turned around and started walking in the other direction with a- "Good luck to you anyway though!"  
  
"Thanks for not much Yami!" I yelled at him, turning and attempting my first trip into the bathrooms of doom.  
  
"Why do they have to separate humans, we were happy in the old days to pee in ONE place." I muttered to myself, taking a few steps forward, praying that everything would be fine.  
  
Fat chance, but I can still hope can't I?  
  
(' ') (' ') (' ') (' ')(' ') (' ')  
  
I trudged into the classroom ten minutes later and sat down next to the Pharaoh. I drummed my fingers on the desk and bounced up and down in my seat, looking nervously at the clock on the wall. Yami leaned over to me.  
  
"I thought you were going to the bathroom."  
  
"I - can't!" I said, "They wouldn't let me in! I tried going into the boys but they thought I was a girl, and they thought I was a boy in the girls bathroom and they kicked me out!"  
  
Yami opened his mouth to say something wise and wonderful that would make everything feel better, but he never got the words out. The teacher then strolled into the classroom and lay his briefcase onto his desk with such a loud booming noise that everyone jumped. Both Yami and I snapped back into 'innocent little angel' position and was shockingly able to hold myself still as his gaze lingered to where Yami and I were sitting. There was an empty desk next to me, that with a little bit of observation, I found out that Bakura wasn't here. I expected the teacher to be cross, I didn't expect him to start screaming at us.  
  
"WHERE IS MR. BAKURA! DO YOU KNOW MISS CAITLIN? OR YOU MR. MOTOU?"  
  
My eyes must have practically bulged out of my sockets as I slowly sank down into my chair. Yami looked disturbed, but he stood strong like a real Pharaoh would. Geez, he annoyed me with his perfectness sometimes. Spit flew from Mr. Teacher's mouth as he screamed at us, looking very deranged. Waited for his mouth to foam up and reveal that he was indeed, rouge. But thank Ra, that didn't happen. Just as I was about to be forced to speak to the 'teacher', Bakura strode in.  
  
He did it so casually that you would think he came early or something. Although, he had a black eye and a swollen lip that told me...absolutely nothing. He sat down at his seat next to me and started to look at the papers that were placed at his desk beforehand.  
  
"MR. BAKRUA!" The teacher yelled.  
  
Bakura looked up from his papers, only his eyes moving and his head still tilted downward. You would have thought that he was very interested in the paper was just reading before the teacher had interrupted him, although I had a feeling it was all for show, seeing as he couldn't really read.  
  
"Yes Sensei?" He said in his best Ryou impersonation.  
  
"YOU ARE LATE!" He bellowed.  
  
"Hai Sensei, I ran into a little...trouble on the way sir." He said innocently.  
  
Which meant he was either causing trouble or getting into a fight. Judging by the black eye, he was in a fight. And also judging by his fair mood, Bakura had won. The teacher paid no attention to this, and slammed his hands on the desk in front of Bakura.  
  
"NO ONE COMES IN LATE FOR THIS CLASS MR. BAKURA!" He yelled.  
  
Bakura remained unfazed, and slightly bored if you will, although I saw a flash of anger behind his large Ryouish eyes that were still, amazingly, looking up innocently at the teacher. Bakura was a really good actor to be able to pull off the effect of being innocent, while having a swollen lip and black eye.  
  
"I WANT YOU TO-"  
  
"Sir." Bakura interrupted, getting dangerously close to an OOC Ryou glare, "I do think that I have been punished enough."  
  
Yeah right...  
  
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO ME-"  
  
Bakura was on his feet now, and doing his award-winning glare, "I will talk back if I feel I am being unfairly judged, sir. Not only do I have a good excuse, but also has the class even started yet? I do believe I got here in time to participate in the class, did I not?"  
  
I wish I had a bag of popcorn or something. Bakura was still standing strong with his Ryou accent and innocent talk, yet he was arguing like that Bakura we all know and love...sort of. The teacher was simply beside himself.  
  
"MR BAKURA SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET OR I'LL-"  
  
Once again, Bakura interrupted him, "Don't even start to make empty threats with me, because let me tell you SIR, what goes around comes around."  
  
There, now he was acting like Bakura again.  
  
"YOU ARE GOING DOWN THE RIGHT ROAD FOR A DETENTION MR. BAKURA!"  
  
I could have sworn I saw Bakura's millenium item light up for a split second, but it sputtered and turned off right away before anyone could notice it. Apparently, Bakura's item wasn't working properly. And being the kind hearted person I was, I decided to take it upon myself and save his skin. I took out a notebook paper and did my best to make a paper airplane, in the end it turned out looking more like a ball, and threw it at the teachers head.  
  
The whole room seemed to stop. Bakura and the teacher both slowly turned their heads and looked straight at me. I pretended to become suddenly very interested in the ceiling, but it didn't help much. Every kid in the room was staring straight at me in disbelief and throwing my cover. Just to confirm what was happening, the teacher turned to the class full of witnesses.  
  
"WHO THREW THAT PAPER!" He roared.  
  
Everyone instantly pointed at me. Big bunch of tattle tails, even the Pharaoh pointed at me! Geez! I looked to my right, then to my left, desperately trying to find someone to blame in my place. I saw no one that looked suspicious enough, so I guiltily smiled at the teacher and shrugged innocently. That dang teacher marched right up to me and threw that paper back at my head. The nerve of him!  
  
"Now that was uncalled for!" I scolded him, forgetting that I was powerless against a moral teacher.  
  
Gods that sounds pathetic.  
  
"MISS CAITLIN!" He said in his usual yelling voice. I was sitting right there for gods sake, not across the room, "YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ATHORITY TO THROW PAPER AT-"  
  
I almost felt bad that I had to interrupt him, after all the times he had been interrupted so far. And I couldn't help rubbing my ears at the sound of all this yelling. What the heck was wrong with the teacher anyway? "Sir, I REALLY have to go to the bathroom so do you think that-"  
  
"YOU NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM?" He said.  
  
I ignored his...tone with me and continued with my perfect excuse. "Yes, PLEASE sir there was a...huge line and if you'll just excuse me for a few minutes."  
  
"MISS CAITLIN YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOUR BATHROOM BREAK BEFORE CLASS!"  
  
"But I couldn't sensei, the line was too long and I needed to get to class before it started or else I would have gotten into trouble like Mr. Bakura there."  
  
He stopped, pondering the conundrum for a moment, then he let out a defeated sigh and handed me a hall pass, saying nothing the entire time. I couldn't believe my luck! That must be a one in a zillion chance! The first smart thing I had done today, and I was very proud of myself. As soon as I left, I herd the booming voice of Mr. Teacher person telling everyone to 'TURN TO PAGE 113!' Bakura and Yami gave me a sour look when I beamed at them, and I almost skipped over to the restroom area before remembering...  
  
I still didn't know which bathroom to go into.  
  
.:*:.:*:.:*:.:*:.:*:.:*:.  
  
"OUT OF MY WAY!" I shouted, shoving Bakura and Yami to the side and running to the bathroom.  
  
I hadn't been able to go all day. Class after class I had to hold it in and oh what a relief it was to finally be able to let it all out. Yami, Bakura, and I had all decided to walk home together so we could all 'discuss' the school day. I was positive that I was going to get scolded by Bakura for not letting him show the teacher who was boss, but it was worth the get out of class free card. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw them all sitting on the pink sofa's and looking at the pink furniture and pink walls with blank expressions. I looked around, wondering why my new mom and sister hadn't come out to yell at me for bringing guests over and spotted a pink paper with pink writing all neatly scribbled on it. These people have to have some mental issues to be this obsessed with pink. I picked it up and tried to read it.  
  
"I think my family is gone, they left a note of some sort." I said, looking it over and pretending that I understood a single word that was written on it.  
  
"Good." Bakura said, raising to his feet, "Then we'll be staying here for the time being."  
  
"What!?" I exclaimed, "I don't recall saying anything along the lines of 'you can stay here'!"  
  
"It will be easier if we all stay together. We can help one another out with new situations and we are less likely to do something foolish." Yami said, also getting up and taking his born leadership role. "And it will be easier to do that without adults around."  
  
"It's not like your Grampa cares!" I said, desperately trying to defend my privacy and my home from a competitive and always clashing Pharaoh and Tomb Robber. "He already knows all about us!"  
  
"Yes, but he already knows all about Bakura too, and because of that first impression Yugi's Grampa got with him, I don't think the probability of getting a yes there would be high. Not to mention that he is leaving early in the morning the next day and he's never going to leave an empty house to us."  
  
"Figures. The one day we need a place to stay your Grampa isn't even there to help!" I said, then pointing at Bakura I yelled, "And you!"  
  
He looked up lazily at me.  
  
"You could let us stay at your house Mr.! Your father isn't ever there anyway so it wouldn't matter! Why aren't we staying there anyway!"  
  
"Simple, scribe, we aren't staying at my host's house because we will be staying at your house."  
  
"Yes but-"  
  
"We are staying at your house scribe, and that is final."  
  
"Besides," Yami said, "You said you had a note. Maybe Caitlin's guardian explained how to take care of the house and such and we'll better know what to do."  
  
"No, you don't understand." I said hurriedly, "I can't even read the letter! It's of no use to us!"  
  
"Well, one of us was going to have to learn how to read this language anyway, so we can better accomplish school and know what we're doing. Might as well start now." Yami said, "Any volunteers?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"I volunteer the scribe." Bakura said, not even looking up from his inspection of the wall.  
  
"What!" I squeaked, "I won't be able to learn how to read any faster then any of you would!"  
  
"As much as I hate to agree with Bakura, I have to say he's got a point."  
  
Suddenly, I realized something. The Pharaoh NEVER sides with Bakura! No way he'd side with him over something like this, unless...  
  
"You just want me to do your dirty work!" I said, shocked.  
  
"Very good, scribe, now be a good boy and go learn how to read for us." Bakura said, a little smirk starting to show on his face.  
  
He thinks he's so clever...  
  
"B-b-but-"  
  
"Run along now." Yami said, also smirking.  
  
AAHH! They're siding with each other against me! Must...not cave in...to their...every whim! NO! Must tell them that they can take a hike! Must tell them that you aren't doing it! Say-  
  
"Ok..." I answered, sadly and obediently. Why oh why must I always he so obedient and easy to take advantage of? As soon as I went into the hallway, I noticed there was only two little bedrooms and one master bedroom. I don't know why I did it, because it was a stupid thing to bring up, but I leaned my head out of the hallway and yelled to the others.  
  
"There's only one master bedroom here." I shouted. "Who gets it?  
  
They both stopped what they were doing and looked at me. Then I realized what I did. I could have stolen the room before anyone else, but now I had to fight them for it. Well, it was too late, and now, I was going to win that bedroom. I was going to tell Yami that-  
  
"I get the master bedroom."  
  
Bakura and I were in amazement that someone could even attempt to be that arrogant in front of a big revenge king (me) and a murderous tomb robber. He beat me to calling the room! How dare he! Yami seemed to be annoyingly unfazed at our awe and started to take his leave.  
  
"And how is it YOU get the master bedroom?" Bakura hissed.  
  
"Yeah! How come you get the big room! It's MY HOUSE!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Simple." Yami said, "I am your pharaoh. Your superior. Therefore, I get the better room then you."  
  
I had to hold Bakura back from killing Yami right then and there for saying he was his superior, but I wasn't doing a very good job of it. Bakura gave me the king of all glares when he realized it was me keeping him from a clean kill and clawed at my hands around his arm. To make matters worse for me, Yami just smirked and walked casually on his way to the master bedroom, showing that he wasn't at all intimidated by this show of...anger. That REALLY pissed Bakura off. He started going after Yami so hard before I knew it I was holding onto his legs and being dragged across the floor in his attempts to get Yami for what he said. By the time he got up to the doorway Yami was standing in, the stupid pharaoh closed and locked the door in Bakura's face. In his face! Ra help me...  
  
You can only imagine how angry Bakura was, at the Pharaoh mostly, but I came in close second for keeping his from what he wanted. Twice! Suddenly, my stroke of genius for getting out of class was not such a good idea anymore.  
  
Bakura kicked hard on the door and cursed in Egyptian many, many times.  
  
"You!" He said, looking back at me with fire eyes and clenched fists.  
  
I looked around me for a way to run, but there was none. Bakura grabbed me by the shoulders and yanked me close enough to really freak me out.  
  
"You were a fool to do that scribe. And to make up for what I lost, I'll have to do what I meant to do to the Pharaoh to you."  
  
"Now now, there's no reason to get violent." I said in a voice that was much higher then I meant it to be.  
  
"Oh I think there is."  
  
"What do they always say? Don't get mad get even? Well, they should revise that. Don't get mad at him, and don't get even with him either because he really didn't mean anything bad and please don't kill him!"  
  
"What fun is that?" Bakura said threateningly to me, slightly amused at my fear for my life.  
  
Although I was still frightened, I could tell that he no longer wanted to kill me and was loosening his grip on my now purple shoulders. There was were little red marks where his nails dug into my skin, and I quickly and unpleasantly found out why Ryou was so tense around his Yami all the time. I let a breath of relief come out and took a step backwards just in case he decided to kill me again.  
  
"I'm sorry Bakura but I had to keep you from blowing our cover, and I know for a fact Ryou wouldn't murder Yugi."  
  
Bakura's eyes narrowed a little, but I could tell he knew I was right. He sighed and gave me a last sour look before retreating into his pink bedroom. Powder pink. If I wasn't fearing for my life at the moment, I would have to use that as a blackmail prop. Quickly realizing that I needed to regain my feeble leader role, seeing as it was still my house, (and I don't care what anybody says about it) and I needed to say something that would tell Bakura that I was still boss.  
  
"And remember to have lights out by ten 'o clock!" I shouted after him, using the first thought off the top of my head.  
  
"Don't even go there scribe."  
  
"Ok..."  
  
Oh well. Maybe things will be better tomorrow.  
  
Oh yea, school's tomorrow. How could that possibly be better?  
  
:*-:*-:*:-*:-*:  
  
Author- There we go. I'm having a little more trouble with the Yami chapters then I'm having for the rest so please have patience when I have to write them! I'm trying to take into all consideration of how the Yami's would react to a situation, and I'm trying to mind the rules I have set down for them. -.-;; Oh boy...my brilliant plan has already backfired.  
  
[1] Because I thought it would be more comical, the symbols on the doors to the bathroom read 'Girls' and 'Boys' instead of just having a little sick figure person with a dress or without a dress on. Sorry if I caused confusion!  
  
Again, if you have any good ideas that you'd like to see the Yami's have to tackle, let me know because I could always use more ideas! I'm running out of good ones. ;_;  
  
Ah well, that's just me. SUNC! (See you next chapter!) 


	9. The Alliance

Author- Next chapter, I'm having a lot of fun thinking about this story! ^^ I've been having really good dreams lately, and as you may or may not know dreams are my best source of inspiration!  
  
$*$*$*$*$  
  
"So we're supposed to keep our item's secret?"  
  
"And not tell or show anyone else? That's exactly what the guy told you?"  
  
She nodded solemnly, "That's what he said. Well, he only said to keep my item secret, but I'm sure he meant all of them. He seemed to be...almost afraid of it or something. And I could tell that he was hesitant about answering any of my questions."  
  
We had been questioning Caitlin crazy about every single little bit of information she had gotten from someone she found in the woods. She had told us a little about how he looked, and I was starting to wonder if there was a reason two of the people we had met had looked like they came from a history book. I was sure that my puzzle, Ryou's ring, and Caitlin's amulet had something very important to do with this place. The longer I stayed here, the more I wished my Yami was here to help solve the problems we were facing. I don't want to say that I had almost grown dependant with my Yami, because over the last few years I had almost become a completely different person and didn't really need his help as much, but I have to admit that it was nice to have him around.  
  
"And that's all the information you could get out of him?" I said.  
  
"[1] Jitsu wa...he didn't really take a liking to me. I don't know why. Sure I fell on him, but I apologized right away and he still wouldn't be nice!" She said defensively, "He was probably just a jerk."  
  
I couldn't help find it funny that Caitlin fell on Bryac as a first impression. Sounded like something she'd do, but I noticed that she had conveniently left that out of the first version of her story.  
  
Ryou smiled; "You fell on him? Mou? [2]"  
  
It must have been the way Ryou said it, or the look on Caitlin's face when he said it, but I couldn't help erupt into laughing, "Uso daro konna! [3]"  
  
"Anata ne! [4]" She shouted, "I didn't mean to! The slope was really slippery! It wasn't my fault I tell you!"  
  
That didn't help. Both Ryou and I were laughing hard now and Caitlin scowled at us, "Oh yeah, laugh it up. And- hey! It wasn't THAT funny!"  
  
"You're right, sorry." I said, wiping a small tear from my eye, "I guess it's just that you would think we'd expect something like that from you."  
  
She glared at me, but said nothing to defend herself. I smiled playfully and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a drop of water that fell in my eye. Rain? All of us looked up at the sky, as if on cue. Just a few minutes ago, the sun was shinning brightly, but now, the sun was no where to be found. The sky was an angry black, and clouds were no longer light and feathery and showed definite signs of a thunderstorm. Then, the rain just instantly started to pour and soaked us to the bone in a matter of seconds. Caitlin threw her arms up into the air and shouted in her frustration.  
  
"Oh this is great. JUST GREAT. We're stranded in the middle of practically nowhere, with no food or clothes or ANYTHING and NO ONE will help us. But it can't get any worse then this right?" She yelled at the sky, sarcastic ranting almost lost in the heavy rain.  
  
The lightning flashed across the sky, the thunder followed with such a loud crash that you could feel it in the pit of your stomach, and our last surviving first went out with a hiss. The whole world around us had changed with the blink of an eye. The once cheerful and amazing woods that surrounded us looked black as night and more dangerous then I had ever seen a forest look before. Feeling helpless against the rain, I curled up under a large tree and waited, gripping my knees with my hands to stay warm against the icy sheets of rain. Ryou pulled his sweater over his head and sighed, but Caitlin just continued yelling at the sky.  
  
"YOU *long line of curses* SKY!"  
  
"Wow, Caitlin, you really showed that sky whose boss."  
  
I jumped, and spun around like everyone else. A figure stood, face hidden behind a long, dark brown cloak. I could tell it was a boy, because he then laughed quietly at his own joke. Another cloaked figure stood next to him, and they both stared at us intently. Caitlin, strangely seemed to know who the first person was, and groaned at him.  
  
"Get lost Bryac. If you're just going to come and annoy me, then I don't want to talk to you." She said menacingly.  
  
"I've come back for one reason, and one reason only. I need you to come with me so we can figure out how to get you home as soon as possible." He said, lowering her hood a little.  
  
I could now see what Caitlin meant when she said, 'sort of strange looking'. He had piercing blue eyes and black hair that fell to about his chin. There was a scar or two on his face, and he had a strange kind of look in his eyes that made me wonder what he was really up to...  
  
Another cloaked person jogged up to the first two, and because her hood was already down, I could recognize her as Yoko. She took a deep breath before skidding to a halt on the wet leaves and smiling up at Bryac and the third person, who took no notice that she had even arrived.  
  
"I lost you for a moment in there." She explained cheerfully, "And then my cloak got caught on a pointy bush, but I'm here now."  
  
The boy named Bryac didn't even look at her, but continued his conversation with us. "You need to come with us to." Then his gaze shifted on me, "I assume these are the other two holders of the-"  
  
"My nakama [5]." She interrupted, gesturing to us.  
  
Bryac cocked his head to the side, "Excuse me?"  
  
"Nakama. My close friends. This is Ryou Bakura, and Yugi Motou."  
  
Yoko shook her head, sending loose water flying everywhere like a dog, "Oh no, you can't go by those names. You can't have your same name or you might be killed."  
  
*@* Caitlin's POV *@*  
  
[A/N: This was one of the first chapters I ever wrote, even before chapter one, so I had Caitlin's point of view for most of it, but I'll switch back to Yugi and Ryou's points of view next chapters to make up for it. I promise. Sorry again!]  
  
"What?" I exclaimed, "But I like my name!"  
  
"Caitlin," She said quietly, "That means virginal beauty."  
  
She looked at her feet while she said that, but glanced at Bryac when she put the emphases on 'beauty'. I couldn't tell if she was making a point secretly to him, or making fun of how I looked. It wasn't my fault I wasn't drop dead gorgeous! Sure I had a bad case of acne on my forehead and I was forever cursed with greasy hair and freckles, but it's not like I was parading around saying I was the most beautiful thing in the world, was I?  
  
"I didn't pick it!" I said quickly, noticing the looks they were giving each other.  
  
The girl who was still heavily cloaked suddenly let her hood fall to reveal her face. She had coffee colored brown hair and an exceptionally pale face. Her eyes immediately reminded me of 'mother of pearl' shells, because they strangely looked like they had every color in the world in them, yet, they seemed gray. What was even more strange, was that she seemed to have no expression, and looked like she was studying something far away that no one else could see.  
  
"Oh we know that," She said, voice like running water, "It was destiny that named you."  
  
I groaned, were they trying to hint something to me or something? I didn't understand any of it! Not a word! Bryac looked almost worried when the girl continued, and he whispered, 'Thina...' threateningly, like she was going to give something away.  
  
"From now on, we'll call you Amaya, which means Night Rain. For like the rain, you are gentle at first glance, but can turn harsh at any given moment. And can take many forms, but are shrouded in the dark future of night and no one knows when you will die."  
  
This time Bryac sent Thina a dirty look but quickly looked away and at a stick on the ground. Yoko looked wide-eyed at her and shook her head slightly to note she wasn't supposed to say that much. What exactly was wrong with my name? I ask you!  
  
Yugi shrugged, "I guess it wouldn't be THAT bad if I had a different name for a while, just until we get back into the real world right? Which will be soon I hope."  
  
The girl, who I believed was named Thina, looked closely at him in a quizzical way, then her eyes went back to the state of looking at something in the distance, "If it is what you believe, then I am satisfied. If you believe it to be the truth, then I cannot agree. Either way, you need to take on a false name in order to hide your item. They might know your true names by now, and even if they don't, they will soon find out."  
  
"Why don't we want them to know our names? And who's they?" I asked, looking from one to the other for an answer.  
  
She ignored me and the girl with pink hair continued with giving Yugi a name, "Let's see.... you are a tough one to figure out, but I think I've got a name perfect for you. You can be called Inari!"  
  
Yugi grinned, "What does that mean?"  
  
She shrugged, "Shrimp."  
  
Yugi pouted while she explained, "You LOOK like a Inari, they won't ever be able to find you out."  
  
"But who!" I pleaded, getting steadily more and more frustrated, "WHO is after our items!"  
  
"And you Ryou." Yoko said, obviously avoiding my question for some reason, "You can be Makoto. It means sincere and honest."  
  
"How come he gets to be sincere and I have to be a shrimp?" Yugi said, a whine starting to show in his voice.  
  
I waved my arms for their attention, "Hello? I'm trying to ask a question! Will someone please explain this to me!"  
  
Bryac sighed and looked at me, "Ok, here's the deal. There is someone here that is after your items. We don't know why, but from what our men have heard, he's planning to use them to unleash something of 'great power'. We don't know what this item is, and we don't know HOW he'll use your Destiny Items to unleash whatever it is, hell, we don't even know for sure that it's true, we've just got a big hunch."  
  
"Who's trying to take the items?" Ryou asked, "Do you know that much?"  
  
Bryac nodded, "Yes, we know who it is. Someone very rich, with great power, and great influence over the Dream Realm. You don't need to know his name though, it isn't important. What is important, is that he has men all over the place looking for your items."  
  
"Like that man who was after me before?" I said quietly, "The big stupid one?"  
  
"There are lots of 'big stupid' ones on his side, and there are some on our side too, whether that be a good or bad thing, but if whoever it was went after your item, they were probably on the other side."  
  
The rain started to die down a little, and for that I was thankful, but I couldn't shake off the cold feeling I was getting by the way Bryac spoke of this.  
  
"Our side is trying to keep the other side from getting what they need to unleash great power." He continued, laying a sort of backpack on the ground and starting to rummage through it. "We can't let him get those items."  
  
"What if he did though...?" Yugi said, biting his lip.  
  
Bryac stopped, and stared at him straight in the eye, "If they got those items, then our whole world would come to an end. First, he would probably kill all of you, and then everyone in the Dream Realm that he could lay his hands on. Everything would be his, and there isn't anything that anyone would be able to do to stop him."  
  
A long silence followed this. Just the thought of having the entire Dream Realm's fate resting on our shoulders made my head spin. Thina and Yoko nodded sadly when everything was said, and for the first time since the car crash on my birthday, I was really terrified of what was going to happen. Then a thought came over me that made me feel like Bryac wasn't telling us everything.  
  
"If he is just going to kill us in the end," I said, "Then why doesn't he just kill me and get it over with. Then he could take my item and go on his merry way."  
  
Yugi and Ryou both looked at them after I finished my question, probably thinking the same thing I was. Bryac hesitated, and Yoko looked around nervously. Then hr glared at me for some reason, and turned back to looking through the backpack.  
  
"He'd have to find you first." He muttered.  
  
Now I was thoroughly confused. Why was Bryac so tense around me? What did I ever do to him that made him hate me so much? Breaking the mood of the conversation, Yoko smiled warmly at us.  
  
"We're the rebels!" She said proudly, "We don't agree with what he's trying to do, and we've been looking for you for a while now. It's our duty to keep everyone safe no matter what!"  
  
The glassy eyed girl from before spoke again turning her head slightly to the side, "We must go, now. He is coming with a group and he has heard us speaking."  
  
Bryac acted on this immediately and dove into his pack, "Shit were are they!?"  
  
"What?" Ryou said, looking around him for something dangerous, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Yes!" Bryac exclaimed, pulling out an arm full of brown, hooded cloaks almost identical to the ones they were wearing. "Put these on quickly."  
  
I covered myself up as fast as I could and followed the group of cloaked figures running into the forest. I couldn't tell who was who because they all looked the same, and chased after them all in silence.  
  
"Remember your new names," I heard Thina call, "Keep your hood up, don't let them distinguish you at all! And most importantly, never let them see your items!"  
  
"Who!?" Ryou panted, "Who is them! I don't understand!"  
  
I was about to ask the same question, but Bryac shouted at us to run without 'meaningless chit-chat' and lead us into a large cave on the side of a cliff. The figure I assumed was Bryac walked at a fast pace the entire time, leading them deeper and deeper into the black. Yugi started to take his hood off when we were far deep inside but could still see a little, and Yoko stopped him.  
  
Now, it was impossible to see anything in the dark, and ones only chance of staying with the group was to do your very best following the sound of their footsteps. It must have been ten minutes before we heard voices. They weren't mean sounding or anything, and although they were keeping their voices low, they were defiantly laughing and talking like good friends. They kept getting louder and louder, which told me I was getting closer to were they were, and I couldn't help feeling very nervous about the whole thing. Poor Ryou accidentally kicked a rock aside and the noise echoed for a few seconds, causing the voices to stop, and everyone around him to stand still, waiting for something to happen.  
  
"Who's there?" A deep voice grunted, "I'm warning you, I'm armed and ready for an attack! You probably can't see me but I have a long sword in my hand, and I must warn you, I am a master in the art of sword fighting!"  
  
"You truly believe that you could call yourself a master in sword play? And yet you go around announcing the fact that you carry a sword around? I am ready for an attack whenever you are." Bryac answered coolly to no one but darkness.  
  
"Well I'll be darned, sounds like ol' Bryac's back from searching for that item of mass destruction!"  
  
"Oi! Welcome back Bry'!" Another voice said, seeming to be right behind us.  
  
"Hey he brought some friends with him this time!" Said a voice near my right side. It was just close enough to wonder if they had started to wonder over to us. My heart picked up speed at the thought of having people around me all gripping swords.  
  
"Finally satisfied with your catch at long last ay Bryac?"  
  
"He's got sum' people with him this time, boys!  
  
"Really?"  
  
"How many are there?"  
  
"'Bout three or so, not includin' the ding-dong and the ditz. You do include em and there's five."  
  
"I do believe we all know how to count Aiden!"  
  
"Sorry 'bout that."  
  
They sounded like they were all around us, but I couldn't see at all to tell. I heard a loud BOOM that sounded like someone hit the ground hard, then another male voice laughed.  
  
"We've got a jumpy one over here!"  
  
"Don't surprise me."  
  
"Which one? Damn this dark, can't see a bloomin' thing. Who's near the lantern?"  
  
"Oi, Cavamik! Turn on the bloody light why don't ya?"  
  
A soft glow washed around us enough to see again, and I almost screamed. They were all around us alright, they had surrounded us all very closely and although they didn't look frightening as frightening as I pictured them to be. They were all armed with a sword much like Bryac's golden one, and had either a similar grin plastered on their faces, or a highly inquisitive expression. I wasn't surprised to see that all of the members seemed to be males, and none of them were older then around 20. One with bright red hair and blinding green eyes walked up, grinning, and squinted at them. Then he chuckled, and with a strong Irish accent, spoke loudly.  
  
"Well Bryac you should 'ave told us it was you. You almost scared the shit out of Cavamick here. I though 'e was goin' ta wet 'imself I did."  
  
A younger looking member of the group blushed and rubbed the back of his head, laughing a tiny bit at his actions but obviously embarrassed. He had blond hair and deep blue eyes, and by the way he was gripping his sword, I guessed that he was the one who was the first to speak about being a swordsman. Funny, now that he was in the light and looking embarrassed it didn't make me want to jump out of my skin.  
  
Bryac smirked, "Thought I might have a little fun with him first Darren."  
  
"Good god man! Who did you take off the streets this time mate? I thought you said-"  
  
"I'm just making sure they turn out alright, and nothing more. Making sure they find their way in the world."  
  
"You said that 'bout Yoko and Thina and we can't get rid of 'em!"  
  
A few scattered laughs at this comment, and everyone's faces brightened. Even Yoko and Thina had to smile about that, and I knew immediately that all of these people must be very close.  
  
"They are valuable to our mission, and I know they might be crazy and very annoying but they have their good parts too."  
  
"What good parts do these blokes 'ave?" Then his face fell and he spoke more quietly, "Wait, do you mean that they are the-"  
  
"Yes Darren, they are. All three of them."  
  
Everyone in the room whispered and murmured amongst themselves, smiles forgotten.  
  
Darren's eyebrows went up, "They are? You don't say! All three at once then?"  
  
Bryac nodded and jerked his head over to where we were standing and Darren nodded. I felt like shouting, 'If somebody doesn't tell me what's wrong with being a girl named Caitlin with a beetle shaped amulet now I'm going to scream!' But I couldn't seem to find my voice at the moment, and just stood in silence and kept my frustration to myself.  
  
"Well are you ever going to tell us who they are or are ya just going ter make us find out ourselves?"  
  
Bryac smiled, a once in a lifetime thing I had already learned, "I didn't think you cared that much."  
  
"Course I care! Let's see 'em then!"  
  
Obediently, I took off my hood. I wished I hadn't after I noticed Yugi and Ryou didn't do the same and my face grew hot instantly when I noticed everyone's eyes were on me. Darren nodded to me.  
  
"Thank you lass, at least one doesn't want ta make me job any harder. You can call me Darren, the second in command of this here little group of sword friends, and second only to Bryac himself. So, who might you be?"  
  
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, they seemed friendly enough, so I gave them my name as asked, nodding the same as Darren did to me.  
  
"I...think my name is currently Amaya thank you, and it's...a pleasure to meet you sir."  
  
Everyone in the cave oohed, laughed, or both, making me only wish even harder I would have kept my hood up. Some of them bowed their heads and smiled.  
  
I am starting to hate this place, you can't tell if people are mocking you or not.  
  
Darren grinned, "Well now, it seems we have ourselves a proper lady in the cave."  
  
I blushed again, probably scarlet by now, "I just said...hi..."  
  
"We know, it's just all the lasses here nowadays are pigs with no class at all. You never hear a polite word now adays since the whole ordeal with...anyway. It's alright though, you can tell us your real name. I can tell by yer red hair that the name you gave was given to you. Which is alright too, we all haf ter go by given names to save our skins every once in a while. And I'm sure your reason is not too different from ours."  
  
I felt shocked that he figured it out so quickly, but nodded and said, "I'm...Caitlin. Just Caitlin...uh...sir."  
  
Another huge grin from Darren, "There now, an Irish name for an clearly Irish lass!"  
  
Clearly? I guess it was possible, I never really knew my mom or dad. They could have just taken me with them to Japan for a while, you never could tell. I just nodded and kept quiet in case I said something wrong or regretful.  
  
He turned to my friends and said, "You can take your cue any time now, I don' bite."  
  
Ryou and Yugi reluctantly slipped off their hoods and looked around nervously. Yugi spoke first.  
  
"I'm Yugi, uh...hello." Yugi said, with a little wave.  
  
"R-Ryou Bakura." Ryou managed to smile a bit when he said that, but he still looked uncomfortable about the whole thing.  
  
They all looked at each other as if trying to see what made them look so frightening and chortled. They seemed to be a fine batch of people who were always smiling, and they somehow made you feel welcome very quickly before even knowing the half of their names. The one I assumed called Cavamick stepped forward.  
  
"It's alright, you know. We're friends of Bryac's and it's our duty to make sure no one gets caught by the Dream Government or Yukio."  
  
"Caught?" Yugi said suspiciously.  
  
Cavamick had an accent similar to Ryou's, and he strongly reminded me of Legolas in the Lord of the Rings, "Well that's why you're here aren't you? Besides the items, you're here to help us fight against the government?"  
  
I noticed Bryac shake his head quickly in a firm 'No' and Cavamick looked very taken back. Yugi decided to stay away from that subject, also seeing the firmness in Bryac's decision, and brought up a brighter comment.  
  
Yugi nodded, "I didn't realize there was so much politics in dreams!"  
  
"Of course there is, without politics the whole place would fall apart!"  
  
"So you're after the whole government? I thought that you were only after one person." Ryou said, thoughtfully.  
  
Cavamick nodded, "True, we're pretty much just against one person, but he's the one who is influencing the government. His name is Yukio, and HE'S the one that wants to kill everyone and such. He's after four things that are supposed to give him ultimate power or something along those lines. Three Destiny Items, and something else that we aren't quite sure of. We have to find out what it is before we can stop him from taking it, but he's keeping his plans under tight security, and not even our best spies have been able to get a word of what he's after. All we know, is that if he does get...IT then this place will go to hell in a hand basket. "  
  
"But that'll never happen!" A man in about his early twenties shouted, raising to his feet and raising his fist into the air. "We'll stay united 'till the end and no one will be able to ruin our chance of victory!"  
  
A loud cheer erupted from the group that took Yugi, Ryou, and me by surprised and we jumped at the sudden volume. I cleared my throat and everyone waited to hear what I was going to say, for once I felt like someone supper important.  
  
"Yukio..." I repeated, "I've heard that name before..."  
  
Cavamick nodded, "You very well might have by now. He's very common among the tongue now a days, not very highly spoken of though I might add."  
  
"Well..." Yugi said, joining the conversation at last with confidence, "how do you plan to stop him? I don't mean to be a downer or anything but, if he has all this power how do you stand any chance of winning?"  
  
Darren beamed as if Yugi had given them a compliment, "We're planning on storming up to the government and giving them a piece of our minds. We are praying to the lord above that they'll see what they are doing wrong supporting that slime, and be able to help us fight against us and stop Yukio's rain of wrath before it starts. And if all else fails..."  
  
He trailed off, staring into space for a while in deep thought. Cavamick noticed his unfinished sentence and shook his head sadly. Yugi looked at the two eagerly.  
  
"What? What will you do?"  
  
Cavamick sighed, "If all else fails, if we can't convince them..." I thought he was too at a loss for words and we would NEVER know, but Cavamick regained himself and said softly, "...we'll have to go to war."  
  
"War!?" I exclaimed, "Excuse me? How could you possibly win a war against a government and a crazy person with tons of power!? It's suicide!"  
  
I couldn't help being sour spirited, I just spoke my mind most of the time and let my feelings come out. It didn't seem like a very good idea, and they all seemed so nice...I wasn't ever one to like death a whole lot, and I tried to avoid it at all costs. Heck, I did my best to never kill a bug, and letting a group of kind people go kill themselves was almost as bad as killing them, in my opinion.  
  
Darren stared into space while talking, "We have people all over the place that are on our side. Like a secret society against the demon called Yukio. We've been training most of them to fight and others to be spies for us. Everyone counts, every single person can do something to help out. Many might die in the war, and I am not exactly looking forward to it, but we're doing it for the future and... and I'd rather die doing something worthwhile then live in cowardice!"  
  
I paused for a moment, then smiled, "I guess you've got a point there. In that case, I'll fight with you against Yukio."  
  
What can I say? I enjoy doing something courageous when the odds are against you. And if I couldn't stop them, might as well help them. People yelled at me for being so quick to different opinions, most of the time, but here everyone seemed to be happy with my choice. Everyone, of course, but Bryac.  
  
Bryac stood upright immediately and put his hands stiffly at his sides, "Oh no you aren't! I didn't lead you here to sign you up and train you for this war! You don't even live here!"  
  
I glared at him, "I may not live here, but I'm here now, and therefore, I'm involved in this. It is now my problem. Darren said himself that every man -and I'm sure he meant woman too- counts and I'll do my best to help!"  
  
"I'm taking you home as quickly and as quietly as possible before this law is passed, you don't need to get involved in this. If you get out of here half of our problems are solved! If you stay, you are just making things worse!"  
  
Although I was fighting hard, I managed to keep my voice quieter then I normally fought in. Soon, Yugi and Ryou were at my sides too. Ryou may not be the bravest person in the world, but he likes to see people suffer about as much as I do- (which if you don't remember, is not at all) -and would do what he could. Yugi was always ready for something heroic and adventurous and strongly agreed with me.  
  
"I'm sure we can do something!" Ryou said.  
  
Yugi nodded, "I'm sure we're part of the mess, so we're going to help clean it up."  
  
Bryac looked from me, to Yugi, Ryou, and then the whole group around him who quietly wanted us on their side with them. He looked at his feet finally, feeling very defeated, and grunted.  
  
"But- UGH! Fine! I'm going to try and get them out of here as soon as possible, but if we don't get there in time, they can help with whatever they can. ON THE WAY mind you, I am still not happy about this."  
  
Yugi grinned at Ryou, who seemed to be having late second thoughts about fighting in a war.  
  
"Under one condition." Bryac added over the positive chatting, "Someone is going to have to teach them how to fight properly. They're going to need more then what they have, I think magic training will be learned quicker then sword play. Who volunteers?"  
  
No one spoke, and I could have sworn I heard crickets chirping. Finally, Darren cleared his throat and smiled.  
  
"I nominate Bryac and his freaky friends to teach them!"  
  
Bryac looked like he saw a ghost, "WHAT!? THAT'S NOT WHAT I-"  
  
Loud cheering and 'Here here!' interrupted him. Again, Bryac got that defeated look on his face, and groaned behind the hands he had smacked over his face in his distress. Yoko was practically skipping.  
  
"Isn't that great Bryac! We get to train them! This will be so much fun won't it Thina?"  
  
Yoko turned to her glossy eyed friends, who seemed to be in deep concentration.  
  
"Thina?" She said once more.  
  
Everyone stopped and looked at the girl Thina. An soft, and eerie glow formed around her and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they had turned a pure white and the pupils dilated immediately. Thina looked up at the group of people slowly, and said softly, "They are in the cave."  
  
Fear struck me. I didn't like the sound of the 'they' Thina was always talking about, and I had witnessed first-hand how that kind of a statement had affected Bryac. Everyone began to mutter between themselves and back a little deeper into the cave, Bryac and Darren gripped their swords on habit.  
  
"Who?" Bryac said loudly, and clearly, "Who is in the cave Thina?"  
  
Thina again thought, then she looked right above Bryac's head and answered, "Five of the men on Yukio's side. One is new, but the others are all skilled. Yukio is with them and they are rapidly approaching. They are after the Destiny Items."  
  
This time, the people around me broke into pandemonium and were on their feet. Darren had his sword pulled out and was holding it out in front of him now. Everyone seemed to be in pure shock at the mention of Yukio and his trail after our items, and Yugi, Ryou and I could only stand and watch them helplessly. Darren cursed and turned to Thina.  
  
"Why the hell did you wait till now to tell us!" He said, sustaining the urge to shout.  
  
Bryac yanked the hood of his own cloak over his head and shouted for someone to turn the lights off. Everything went black at once and I heard many swords being pulled out although I couldn't see a thing. I was startled when I heard Bryac breathe behind me, "Whatever you do, keep hidden the best you can. Stay in the shadows behind us and draw little attention to yourself."  
  
Draw little attention to myself.  
  
That's the story of my life. I've been trying to do that since I was nine and whether or not it was a good thing, I was very bad at it. There were a few shuffling noises in the dirt on the cave floor, and then there was only the sound of a distant dripping. It was like a clock, counting the seconds we stood agonizingly still.  
  
Drip.  
  
I held my breath when foot prints were heard, crushing the small clods of dirt and getting louder and louder.  
  
Drip.  
  
A dim light was visible now, just a prick of light that made the already tense group get even more tense. Yugi clutched his puzzle and hid it under the clock, taking a deep breath and waiting. I held the Beetle tightly in my fist, and Ryou had his hand on the lump on his shirt where his Ring was hiding. We all waited, afraid to even glance occasionally at one another. That was what everyone was doing. It was all we could do.  
  
Drip.  
  
Someone's sword hit the wall of the cave and echoed loudly. Everyone held their breath as the light again turned our way. Still far ahead, but close enough to fear that we would be sighted.  
  
"Be careful you imbecile!" A voice hissed, "We probably scared them away now with all the racket you're making!"  
  
"I'm sorry sir,"  
  
I could only picture a look of relief on my face said clearly 'thank god it wasn't one of us'. Although my eyes were getting used to the black, I still was as blind as a bat. The one who had knocked his sword against the wall apologized over and over until the first one to speak hissed at him again to, and I quote, 'Shut the hell up or I'll have to make you!'  
  
"I'm s-sorry..." He said again under his breath.  
  
I heard a quick shuffling of feet, and then the second person whimpering. The light that was bobbing ahead of us dropped to the floor, still lit, and rolling into the cave wall. The first one spoke in such a raged tone and threatening voice, it made me shiver when he spoke through his teeth.  
  
"I thought I told you to shut up."  
  
Another whimper and I heard on take a step.  
  
"I'll be quiet! I promise! Just please, don't kill me!" The second one pleaded.  
  
I wished it was lighter on one hand, and on the other, I was thankful it was so dark. I wished for light so I could see what was happening to the poor man who hit the wall. I pictured the first man cornering him against the wall and pointing a sword at him, but one could never be sure in the dark. And I was glad it was dark, because then it was harder for them to see us, and although we were nervous, I could tell they were too.  
  
"Oh, I won't kill you." He grunted, "But if you don't take this matter more seriously next time, I don't think I'll have a choice."  
  
"Y-yes sir."  
  
There was more quiet an uneasy breathing, then the leader said in a gruff tone, "Let's move out! I bet the kid was lying, there isn't anything back here and I think that kid was just leading us down a wild goose chase."  
  
Another noise echoed through the cave from behind me. Someone had kicked a rock against the cave and the retreating footsteps halted.  
  
"Sir? Did you hear that?" One voice said.  
  
"I thought I told you to shut up!" The leader voice growled, followed by a loud yelp of pain and something falling onto the ground. Silence.  
  
"DID I OR DID I NOT TELL YOU TO MOVE OUT!"  
  
The group shuffled rapidly away from where they were. Everyone let out a breath they had been holding and relaxed a bit, I pulled down my hood for a little air and looked down at the pin head sized light that was now moving away from them. As soon as they were sure the coast was clear, Cavamick turned on the lantern just enough to see it lighting his face and the people closest to him.  
  
No one moved though, probably still just getting over the shock over what happened. I didn't dare let go of the beetle in my hands, and was breathing heavily. That horrible man wasn't even Yukio, and he was THAT bad. How terrible could Yukio possibly be? Darren slid his sword back into its place and took a step forward as Cavamick spoke quietly.  
  
"I think it's about time we called a meeting." He said, "Please, Yoko, could you keep an eye on the new members whilst we speak. Thina will come with us; I think it is needed."  
  
Yoko nodded, and lead me, Ryou, and Yugi down into the darkness of the cave away from the others. I could help the gasp that escaped me when I saw the body of a man lying dead on the floor. He may be the enemy, but I couldn't help feeling a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach accompanied with a sensation of pity and sorrow for the man. In the dark, the face of the man kept flashing before my eyes and I couldn't get his out of my head. He didn't deserve to die. No one deserves to die. Yoko had a strange look of disgust plastered on her face when she noticed his body, but luckily, Yugi and Ryou didn't notice it. The fear inside me was growing at an alarming rate, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I could be that man if I didn't watch my step.  
  
At last, we were out into the sunlight. I had to squint as the bathed my face in warm light, and we sat down in a patch of shade under a tree. Yoko smiled constantly, but she didn't say anything. Neither did Ryou and Yugi. But it didn't bother me, I had a lot of things on my mind. Why was Bryac so angry with me all the time? What was he hiding that made him always have to tell people with his face not to tell us something. What did they have to keep from us? I didn't have any idea yet, but I was going to do anything in my power to find out.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Author- ^^ I finished! Phew! *wipes sweat off brow* This was a whole lot longer then I thought it was going to be. Boy this chapter was darker then I meant it to be. I was just on such a roll with my newest ideas! You can ask my brother, he came into my room in the middle of my flood of inspiration, when my fingers were going about a million words per minute (exaggeration, I can only do 52 wpm) and he said, 'How the heck!' I just couldn't stop! All the ideas came to me!  
  
I had a lot of fun re-writing this chapter though. Funny, this is the third version of this chapter with all the explaining. I've had three different plot ideas concerning Yukio, and I think I like this one best. Oh! By the way, Yukio is actually pronounced like Yu-Gi-Oh. Except with a Ki instead of a Gi. And NO, it is not because I was too lazy to think of a name and just changed that one around, it's because that name's meaning is 'HE WHO GETS WHAT HE WANTS'. Fitting ne?  
  
Oh yes, and I apologize for all the Japanese in the chapter this time. I just couldn't resist! I found all these phrases I just had to use off a site. Here are the meanings-  
  
[1] Jitsu wa...- Truth is...  
  
[2] Mou?- Already?  
  
[3] Uso daro konna!- You have got to be kidding!  
  
[4] Anata ne!- Now wait a minute!  
  
[5] Nakama- Close friends  
  
Well, that's all for now folks! The next DR chapter should EXPLAIN ALL! (Well, some of it anyway.) ^^ But before then, we are going to join the mishaps of the mortal Yami's next chapter! SUNC!  
  
!~ Retaw ~! 


	10. Jepordy Marathon, and Unnatural Rain

Author- Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up all my loyal reviewers! I just had a bad case of writers block, so I apologize in advance if this chapter is a little...rough around the edges. ^^ But I did my best. Besides, as soon as I get over this whole part I'm going to get to the action parts! Fun fun fun! ^.^ No, really, I'm not being sarcastic! I LOVE WRITING ACTION AND STUFF!  
  
-.- Only sadly I don't get to write it very often...  
  
BUT THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE IN A LITTLE BIT! ^^ YES YES!  
  
Yea, just while I'm thinking about it I'm going to answer a question I got e-mailed to me. The reasoning behind that item thing, is that now that the items are all split between both the Dream Realm and the Physical Realm, if you will. Because of this, the items are all rendered powerless, with help from the confusion concerning which item, in which realm, is the real thing.  
  
To solve the problem, there just isn't any power. The most anyone can do with the item is make it glow, which isn't really all that great. They can do something else with the items too, but I'm not telling you what that is yet 'cause even THEY don't realize it yet! ^^  
  
ALSO, I'm going to tell you all this because I never really explain it in future chapters. The REAL reason that Bakura, and Yami couldn't get into Ryou and Yugi's memories is because they were locked into their minds. Ryou didn't purposely lock his school memories out of his mind like Bakura assumed, just the memories like the ones Bakura was looking for are locked in.  
  
For example, if Bakura would have been able to get into Ryou's locked memory, then he would probably find things like: His ABCs, how to ride a bike, how to read and write, how to speak, how to walk, what to do to use a phone, how to make dinner, ect.  
  
Luckily, Bakura had learned completely on his own how to walk and speak by just being Ryou's Hikari, but the other things.... Anywho, the same holds true for Yami and Cami, although not so much Cami as you will find in this chapter...  
  
~*~  
  
I sat in my new room alone, looking at all the pictures on the wall of pink roses, poppies, and other pink things. It was getting very old just looking at things, and my stomach constantly reminded me that I was hungry. Since I had taken over Yugi's place in the world, I had to cope with the new feelings of being alive that you didn't need to deal with when you were a Yami. I sighed, and sat down on the bed. There wasn't anything to do in here, but I couldn't leave my big room, or the Tomb Robber would probably steal it. I didn't like him, and that was a huge understatement. He had been a little better about not being...psychotic...over the past few years, but he still didn't change his attitude toward things.  
  
Just as I was about to look through the drawers in the room, I heard a knock on the door.  
  
"Who is it?" I asked.  
  
"It's...uh...Bakura." He answered, in a voice I was sure belonged to Cami.  
  
"What?" Bakura said in reply to the attempt made to trick me. Cami cursed and hissed something at Bakura, who sighed and made his footsteps known as he retreated into his own room. I smiled a little.  
  
"What is it you want Cami?" I said, loud enough for him to hear clearly from the other side of the door.  
  
"There is some guy here, I don't know who he is, and he keeps knocking on the door. He's got a box with him, and the box smells like food. I want the food, but I think that he's going to...I don't know...cackle evilly and try to kill me when I take it because it turned out to be some sort of trap."  
  
"A trap?" I almost laughed at the thought.  
  
"Yeah, you know, like the one Bakura has set up for you in the bathroom."  
  
"SCRIBE!" Bakura thundered. I heard a smack that I was pretty sure was Cami covering his own mouth, and then he started shouting how he was 'sorry'. I made a mental note to avoid going to the hall way bathroom at all costs, and to just stick to the one conveniently attached to my master bedroom.  
  
I shuffled the deck I always kept close by, "Is there any other reason that the person might be here?"  
  
A pause.  
  
"Cami?"  
  
"Well, I was kind of, trying to figure out how to work the phone, and I saw there was an advertisement on the refrigerator for this company or something, and it had symbols matching the ones on the phone. So I tried it out, 'cause I'm hungry and I saw on the advertisement that there was pictures of food, only it didn't work too well..."  
  
[A/N: Yes, this isn't really Yami's flashback, but I got the idea for it and thought it was too good to pass up.]  
  
**FLASHBACK**  
  
Phone- Hello, this is Happy People Pizza how may I help you?  
  
Cami- Yes, I would like...one foods please.  
  
Phone- Uh, sir?  
  
Bakura- *clears his throat loudly*  
  
Cami- Oh, make that two foods.  
  
Phone- But sir...  
  
Cami- And I want them over here ASAP because we're dying of hunger over here so thank you very much and have a nice day! *hangs up*  
  
**END FLASHBACK**  
  
"...So Bakura had to call up again a little later and yell at them for not delivering our food fast enough and we had to give them all kinds of information! It was murder! (Thankfully, not literally.) I mean, what's with this generation and variety! Can't they just sell one type of pizza!"  
  
I sighed, "Well if you are the one who ordered, why don't you just answer the door and take it?"  
  
"Cause, last time I tried taking it he started yelling at me to give it back because I didn't pay for it yet!"  
  
"Then pay for it." I said, noticing Cami's obvious signs of frustration.  
  
"I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH TO PAY! DUH! If it was that easy I would be eating by now!"  
  
"Just look through your host's memories."  
  
"I've. Already. Tried. That." I could tell now that he was saying this through his teeth. He said it very slowly and emphasized each syllable. Then he sighed, "I don't know what's wrong! It's harder and harder to get into her memories and when I do, it's all blank! I KNOW she can't be THAT stupid! There are is only a tiny corner of her mind that has a teeny bit of useless information in it. AND I WANT FOOD!"  
  
"That's strange."  
  
"What's strange? Me wanting food?"  
  
"No, the absence of memories."  
  
"Yea, yea, whatever, anyway I'm REALLY hungry and I need your help!"  
  
"What could I do?"  
  
"I DON'T KNOW YOU'RE THE DAMN PHARAOH! Look into Yugi's memories for how many of those green papers to give the guy or something! I already tried bartering with him and he wouldn't take any of the bowls I offered him. Those are the only things left in the house that aren't pink."  
  
I paused, searching through Yugi's memories at a fast pace. 'He has less memories too...' I thought, looking everywhere for anything useful. 'The only memories he has left are not very detailed, too shady to even know why he remembered it. The memories were fine this morning, why are they disappearing?' I was able to find a little bit of information about money, but it only said to give the 'pizza man', as Yugi called it, 10.  
  
"Ten." I answered coolly, returning to my dutiful boredom.  
  
"Ten what?" Cami asked, knocking on the door again as I heard Bakura start to shout obscenities at the Pizza Man for not letting him just take the pizza.  
  
I shrugged, "I don't know, money?"  
  
If I actually cared whether or not Bakura got fed, I might have been perturbed that I didn't know exactly what 'ten' meant. I was going to have to find out why Yugi's memories were incomplete...  
  
"Ten moneys..." Cami repeated, "Got it, thanks!"  
  
And with that, Cami ran off to do Ra knows what. I had to keep guard in my room though, so I was sure no scribe or tomb robber would take it when I wasn't looking.  
  
Sadly, it was a long night. But at least I had homework to keep me busy, not that it was entertaining or anything. Especially since they weren't studying about Egypt at all, but about the Greeks. I had to listen to a CD that they had given all the students with the assignments on it, then write a paper on it. It was slightly interesting, but also annoying to have to write down that Apollo was the sun god, instead of Ra, who was the REAL sun god. But, for Yugi's sake, I managed.  
  
[A/N: Just so you know, Yami wrote in Egyptian. ^^ I wasn't going to back down on my rule already.]  
  
Finally, at ten or something, I got frustrated with staying in my room and decided to just hope that no one stole it when I ventured out into the living room.  
  
I found Cami and Bakura, sitting on the couch, eyes glued on the Television, and an almost empty pizza box lying on the coffee table in front of them. They didn't even notice me coming in, and I couldn't help note that both of their jaws were hanging open just enough to be funny to look at them. There was a 'Hooked On Phonics' book and tape was laying forgotten next to the pizza, with sauce dripped all over the page that was opened titled, 'CAT'.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked.  
  
They jumped and glared at me for scaring them like that. I grabbed a cold pizza slice and sat down in a cushy couch with my name on it. "And where did you get this pizza anyway? Did you finally find out how to use the money stuff right?"  
  
Cami shook his head, with a sort of devilish gleaming in his eyes, "Nope. Didn't need to. Bakura stole the pizza from him when he had his guard down, and I chucked water balloons at him from the front window so he didn't really notice. Well, he noticed I guess. Cause he started screaming at us until Bakura made it inside and we locked the door. Locks are so helpful. Kept the screaming guy out and our pizza in."  
  
Bakura nodded and smirked, "We should order pizza more often."  
  
I turned my attention back to the television, which was the only thing lighting the entire pitch black household. There was a rather elderly looking man asking questions he was reading off a big screen thing to three different people. Although I couldn't read, I could defiantly hear, and one of the categories was 'Ancient Egypt'. Eagerly, I leaned a little closer to the bright screen and listened closely as they read the first question.  
  
"The containers used to hold the internal organs that were removed from the body before mummification and embalmed separately." The man said.  
  
A woman buzzed in, "What is The Selket Jars?"  
  
"I am sorry, but that is incorrect. The correct answer is 'Canopic Jars'"  
  
"What is this?" I asked them both, not needing to look at them.  
  
Bakura jerked his head at the Television screen, "They're playing a Jeopardy Marathon of some sort, this one has a whole batch of questions about Ancient Egypt and they keep getting them wrong."  
  
"They've only got one right so far." Cami said maliciously, "And that was one about the Sphinx."  
  
Sounded interesting enough, so I sat down next to them and watched the show. It was unbelievably frustrating being the Pharaoh and having to watch everyone get the questions about your own civilization wrong every time! These people must have been stupid not to know which method the Priests used to prepare the dead for the afterlife!  
  
"An often occurring punishment for Tomb Robbery." The host person said.  
  
"Having your nose and ears cut off...or death." Bakura said, nonchalantly. "And I should know, seen it done a many number of times."  
  
"Um...What is being hanged?"  
  
"No that is incorrect. The correct answer could have been having your nose or ears cut off, being sent to Ethiopia, or death. Next question."  
  
Bakura growled at the people on Television for not knowing that one, and the questions kept going on and on like this.  
  
"The god of chaos, desert, storm, and infertility."  
  
"...What is...Isis?"  
  
I couldn't help loosing my cool at that answer. I threw my arms up into the air and shouted, "No! Nononono! GOD! Isis was the GODESS of mothers and magic! SETH! SETH WAS THE GOD OF CHAOS!"  
  
"Sorry but the correct answer is actually Seth."  
  
"What did I tell you." I muttered angrily to Cami and Bakura, who nodded in agreement to my outburst.  
  
"Last question on the board, it's a daily double. Ready for the question Marie?" The announcer person asked the brown haired girl, who nodded excitedly as a movie appeared on the screen. It was a woman walking through a very old looking temple pointing out hieroglyphics on the wall.  
  
"Ancient Egypt was a time filled with mysteries and magic," The woman began, "I'm here in a Temple where the first ever evidence of the Sau was found. In Ancient Egypt, the Sau played a very important role in life, although it is uncertain what EXACTLY the Sau did, what is it believed that his or her job in life was?"  
  
The movie ended and the screen was back on the face of this 'Marie' character. I couldn't remember exactly what the Sau did back then, and judging by Bakura's face, he didn't remember either. Cami, however, sighed deeply and answered the question quietly, with a surprising seriousness in his tone.  
  
"The Sau was the man or woman in the town that was responsible for making the amulets required by the local villagers or townspeople. They were also responsible for performing the ritual that would imbue the amulets with magical significance and supernatural powers. That was why the Sau usually needed to have great heka." [1]  
  
We both turned and looked at Cami like he had just started ranting fluid Russian. Cami looked somewhat melancholy about the information he had just said, but as it turned out, he was right. No one was paying much attention to the TV at this moment though, because we were both too busy blinking in amazement at Cami's ability to...know this.  
  
"And how do you know this?" Bakura asked, "Did you just swallow a text book or something? That's the first time I've heard you say one work that had more then two syllables in it."  
  
"Yes, Scribe, why did you know this so easily?"  
  
Cami smiled weakly at us, as if having something on his mind suddenly. "I...had a friend."  
  
And with that, he scooped up his 'Hooked on Phonics' and made his way back to his bedroom with a mumbled, "G' night."  
  
Then, there was silence. Except for, of course, the screaming of 'Marie' as she won enough money to take her into the lead, and the other woman named 'Penny' started trying to answer the next question, which she got wrong. In fact, she got it so wrong that Bakura ended up putting his foot through the TV screen [2] and screaming, "THE NILE RIVER YOU BITCH!" With the only light source on in the house out, we were left with darkness.  
  
...TV time was officially over for the night.  
  
*@* BAKURA *@*  
  
Thunder roared and tore me roughly from my sound sleep. I groaned and covered my head with a pillow, seeing out of the corner of my eye that it was no longer the middle of the night. I was already sick of the rain. It had been storming all night while we were watching Jeopardy, and I was done. Now that it was morning, I was inconveniently reminded of the school I was required to attend. Curse school. Now I know why Ryou is so inclined to stay in bed in the morning.  
  
I tried to cover my body up with the warm pink blankets on the bed, but it was caught on something. I tugged harder, and was shocked to hear a loud groan when the blankets were pulled away from me. Confused, I pulled the blankets as hard as I could and low and behold, they were pulled once again away from me.  
  
"What the-?"  
  
I saw a lump under the covers and took it upon myself to kick it. The lump struggled and fell of the side of the bed where I saw who was the culprit.  
  
"SCRIBE!" I bellowed, seizing the blankets back from him.  
  
He looked up at me and screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED!"  
  
"YOUR BED! THIS IS MY BED!" I yelled back at him.  
  
"YOUR BED!? WHY WOULD I BE IN YOUR-" He stopped, blinked as if recalling a memory, then his mouth formed a silent 'O'.  
  
"Oh yeah..."  
  
"I WANT AN EXPLINATION! RIGHT NOW!!"  
  
"Well after everyone went to bed, I got kind of bored and I had the TV in my room on long enough to see the end half of 'Signs'. It's a movie about aliens and stuff. Anywho, after words, I thought I heard something at my window and freaked out. THEN it started pouring down rain and lightning and thunder and...I just got, freaked out. I tried to go into Yami's room, but he had locked his door, and you hadn't so..."  
  
"OUT!" I yelled, pointing firmly at the door and glaring at him.  
  
Cami looked up at me, "I think you're taking this the wrong way, I stayed on my side of the bed only cause I was cold. Otherwise I would have slept on the floor..."  
  
"I SAID OUT!"  
  
Cami obiendiantly got up and started to leave, "I'm going to go change 'kay?"  
  
"I DON'T CARE! FOR THE THIRD TIME, OUT!!"  
  
He closed the door quickly and carefully, and I sighed with relief. If Pharaoh got wind of this, he would have a field day. I gave a last look out the window at the rain and my eyes involuntarily narrowed. There was something about this rain that didn't seem natural.  
  
-(*.*)-(*.*)-(*.*)-  
  
After I had dressed into Ryou's school uniform, I walked out into the kitchen and found Yami and Cami discussing something at the table. They looked up at me when I entered, and offered me a piece of old pizza, which I declined.  
  
"The rain." I said simply, "Something about it doesn't seem normal to me."  
  
The Pharaoh nodded, "I know what you mean. The scribe and I had just been discussing the resent changes in the weather, and from what Cami has told me, the rain started up late last night."  
  
"I still don't understand it." Cami said, "It's just rain, right? Rain goes on almost every week or so, what makes this one so different?"  
  
"I can't put my finger on it." Pharaoh sighed, "But I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that this isn't a good omen."  
  
"True." I said, though it pained me to agree with the Pharaoh, "Do you think it has something to do with our hosts?"  
  
Yami looked off into the distance, "It may be. Even though we have been separated, I'm sure that our souls are still bound in an unexplainable way."  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa, you mean you think our hosts are in some sort of danger?" Cami asked, now in a sort of panicked state.  
  
Yami leaned back in his chair, "You never know about these things, but it seems highly probable."  
  
"What would the rain have to do with them being in danger though?" Cami continued, "They are in another realm entirely, how could the two be linked? Do you think it's some sort of...message they are trying to send us? I mean, we don't know anything about the realm they are in, or what kinds of things they can do there."  
  
"No." I said, "I don't think that it would be easy to alter the climate from the 'Dream Realm'. But it is possible that this is a premonition about what is going to come."  
  
"A premonition?" Cami asked, "What kind of premonition?"  
  
The Pharaoh shrugged, "It may be a sign that something bad is going to happen in the near future."  
  
I got up and looked out the front window at the rain, still steadily falling with occasional thunder and lightning strikes, "Or a simpler way of putting it, this could be some sort of way to cover something up. The items aren't the only things on the world that contain magic."  
  
"Do you really think it's magic rain?" Cami said, almost skeptically, "Am I the only one that thinks you guys might be jumping to conclusions? A lot?"  
  
Yami sighed, "We cannot know for sure until we have more information, maybe someone can give us useful tips, or we can find something out at a different location..."  
  
Cami stiffened and made a face, seeing where the Pharaoh was going with this. "I'm not going to school today if that's what you're implying."  
  
We both looked at him curiously, Yami cocked an eyebrow, "Why not?"  
  
Cami blushed, "They gave me a new uniform for this year."  
  
"And?"  
  
Cami continued to get redder, "It's...a girl's uniform! I can't wear a girl's uniform to school! I'll get laughed at!"  
  
I couldn't help making a comment to that one, "You get laughed at anyway, what would be the difference?"  
  
The Pharaoh laughed under his breath at the look on Cami's face and pushed him in the direction to his room, "Go get changed anyway, we're going to need you to be there so you can help us with the mystery."  
  
Cami's face brightened a little, but he still seemed to hesitate, "Need me? Since when do you NEED me to do anything?"  
  
"We just do, scribe, that comes as a surprise to you?" The Pharaoh acted shocked. Keyword being, ACTED.  
  
Cami smiled a little, "I...guess...fine. But you owe me!"  
  
Once Cami left, I turned to the Pharaoh and scoffed, "Since when do we need his help?"  
  
Yami sighed, "We don't really, but the only way we'll be able to get him in that uniform is to act like we care."  
  
"I noticed." I sighed while opened the front door. Yami stopped me, "Where are you going?"  
  
I opened the door further, and pulled my arm from his grip, "I'm going to go outside for a little while. I need to think about some things."  
  
Yami finally let me go, and I walked out onto the front porch. The rain misted my face a little as I looked out into the distance. No one was outside, even though a bobbing green umbrella was visible far down the sidewalk. A tree across the street looked like it had been struck with lightning, and the whole sidewalk and road was flooded.  
  
It seemed too quiet, even for a rainy day, and everything seemed strangely eerie. I scanned the area in front of me for any signs of something suspicious. Then I saw what I was looking for. A person of some sort, masked in a cloak of rain, standing firm in front a house three down from ours. The water from the street came up to the person's ankles and it looked more like they were floating then standing in three inch high water. The rain was so thick I couldn't tell who this person was, what gender it was, or even how old they might be. But one thing was for sure, I knew at once that they were defiantly suspicious material.  
  
The figure silently walked backward from the house, shaking their head at something mysteriously. The water from the street didn't even waver as they started to walk in our direction, not really paying attention to anything, and keeping eyes hidden in the storm.  
  
"Hey!" I called, "You!"  
  
They turned and looked at me, and I could now tell that the person had blazing, unnatural yellow eyes that could be easily spotted in even the thickest rain. There was something wrong with this persons eyes, and it wasn't just their color. As soon as the person noticed who I was, though, they turned around and disappeared. What the hell? I only blinked! That person couldn't have just disappeared into thin air like that! I clenched my fists and looked as hard as I could through the storm for the person who had looked at me, but there was no one there.  
  
"If I were you-" A voice cooed. "I would watch your back, Ryou Bakura."  
  
I jumped, searching again for who spoke to me. The voice was not male, or female...it just was. Seeing no one was there, I shouted into the sheet of storm, that was getting thicker by the second.  
  
"Who are you!" I shouted, "And how do you know my host's name!"  
  
A cold wind blew, carrying icy water from the rain with it that caused me to unconsciously wince. A cold laugh rang from the mixtures of gray and blue around me and I saw the pair of yellow eyes once again staring back at mine.  
  
"Ah, names." It purred, "Names are nothing of importance. If one would be not named, would it not go on living as itself? Would it not breathe like the others around it? You yourself never use your name anymore...why should I?"  
  
Another cold laugh sent shivers up my spine, but I glared back at the pair of eyes that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "I have my reasons, now reveal your name!" I shouted.  
  
"You may call me Zaria, though if everything goes according to plan, you won't ever need to have the grace of calling me by my name. In fact, if you ever lay eyes on me again, then something has gone seriously wrong, Spirit of the ring."  
  
I was stunned she knew so much already, "How do you-?"  
  
"Ah, I do not intend to go on blurting information that you do not need, Spirit of the ring. It's just extra weight, don't you agree? Besides, I came only to deliver a warning."  
  
The eyes closed, and the only sound was wind and rain, "Take heed, Bakura, I will be watching your every move. One false step," There was a flash of lighting, and the eyes glared back at me with a sudden mixture of both anger and amusement, "-and I might be forced to show my wrath."  
  
"What do you mean!?" I shouted back, "You aren't making sense!"  
  
"Lot's of things don't make sense, Spirit of the Ring, like for instance, why I'm not punishing those who meddle in things that aren't meant to be snooped in to." She growled, another harsh wind kicking up, shaking the wind chime on the next door neighbor's front step.  
  
"Remember my words, Spirit of the Ring, and never trust the expected and assumed. For assumption is demonic and deceiving."  
  
Lightning lit the sky, and the streets were illuminated for a brief second. Just time enough to see a young woman, dressed in loose white robes, fade into the colorless morning. I cursed under my breath as the piercing eyes of the woman too, went away, and I was again alone. I looked at the powerless ring hanging loosely from my neck and sighed agitatedly.  
  
I never liked rain.  
  
~*~  
  
Author- *looking around* Oh come on! You didn't think I was going to leave Cami, Bakura, and Yami out of the darkness of the plot! There had to be something to keep you readers entertained, I was almost getting bored writing their story! :-P  
  
Now, peoples who care, comes the parts in the story where you have to pay attention to A LOT. Every detail counts! And for everything, there is a reason. Heck, there is even a reason why Bryac's hair is black and Yoko's is pink! Details are VERY important, and by the way, *smirk* what I wrote about assumption, holds true for EVERYTHING.  
  
This has been an Authoress tip.  
  
[2] Now, when Bakura put his foot through the TV screen...Before people start asking me about this, I do not know if you would get zapped or cut or killed if you put your foot through the TV screen. Seeing as, I have not personally tried it out, and I do not intend on trying it out in the near future. Sorry folks! If someone out there has actually done this sort of thing, please contribute your ultimate knowledge to the Authoress of this fic right after you call this number.  
  
1-800-AGR-MANGMNT  
  
Joking! Joking! ^^;;  
  
[1] Actually, all of this information is true. The 'Sau' in the city or town could be either male or female, 'Sau' meaning 'Amulet Man'. And 'Heka' was translated to mean 'Magic' in Egyptian. In fact, everything that I wrote in the Jeopardy thing is true. Even the fact that Tomb Robbers that were caught, were punished by getting their nose cut off. *grimace* I found this all in my humanities textbook, and was simply stunned at all the information I found out. You see, I've already written some of the last few chapters, and all of the Egyptian stuff I put in there turned out to be real Egyptian stuff in the book. And there you have it! History lesson in a fanfic! How do I pull it off, I THANK THE HUMANITIES BOOK!  
  
I am keeping this book.  
  
Its name is Bob.  
  
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*sly grin* You know I want.  
  
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*blink* *blink* EWW! NOT THAT YOU PERVERTS! I MEANT REVIEW!  
  
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*looks at watch* Well? Are you going to review already?  
  
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*groan* Uhg! I give up! *leaves*  
  
SUNC! 


	11. The Prophecy, and the Tupok Attack

Author- Huh, you know, I've realized that I've used rain in two consecutive chapter. O.O OH NO! HOW UNORIGINAL! ...*shrug* Oh well. They both mean something different so I guess it isn't such a big whop. YES, ladies and gentlemen, EVEN THAT DANG RAIN THAT IS GETTING ON EVERYONE'S NERVES HAS SYMBOLISM!  
  
...amazing isn't it?  
  
Oh! Which reminds me, two things. Firstly, these three little dots (EX: ...) have become my new favorite thing! ^^ So please excuse me if sometimes they turn into one little dot (.) instead, I don't mean it.  
  
Second, I think I'd like to thank my reviewers personally, 'cause it's nice. Somebody thanked me for my review on the fic, and I felt special. ^_____^ So now, I'm going to thank you guys.  
  
*~  
  
iceangel- Aww, you shouldn't have! An extra long review just for me! *sniffle* Thanks for your support, and I hope I'm not becoming a bother with your editor duties! I'm glad you enjoy reading my story!  
  
The Happy Reviewer- Yeah, I had fun writing Yoko's character because I've met a bunch of people like her before. :-P And I actually saw that saying on the T-shirt in the mall, glad you reviewed! And I hope to get your opinion in the next chapters to come!  
  
Ally Drendo- Thanks so much for reviewing so many times! You were my very first signed reviewer and it meant so much to me to get that boost of encouragement. AND I'm glad to see my fic isn't boring. I was afraid that chapter wouldn't turn out right, even though I've changed it twice already since I last updated it. As I said before, I hope I can fit the bill with what you look for in a good story.  
  
*Red- Thanks for your review too! Like Ally Drendo's, you were one of the very fist reviews I ever got, and it really helped me out in the long run. I'm glad you think my story will turn out pretty well, and I only hope I can write out the story as well as I see it in my head. ^^  
  
fishkisser- Thanks for reviewing! I'm very pleased to see that my OC is cool, 'cause you don't know how many fanfics I've read where the OCs are just plain dull. I was nervous that I would fall into the 'Mary-Sue-Look- Alike' trap, and I am very pleased to see I didn't. (GO ME!) I am currently reading a few of your fics, actually, which are very good. I hope you keep up your good work!  
  
.*.*.  
  
We all walked slowly a little deeper into the cave to make sure no one could overhear our meeting. Especially not Yugi, Ryou, or Caitlin. Everyone was silent as we heard the footsteps of Yoko and the others fade away. Darren lowered the light of the lantern and turned to face me, a certain determination in his eyes that took me by surprise.  
  
"Alright Bryac," He said firmly, "Explain."  
  
Everyone in our group had a chosen mask. We all had to pretend to be someone else entirely to have any chance of survival. Yukio could easily trace back any of us by the tiniest detail, such as our hair length, voice, personality, or name. Most of us looked exceptionally different then when we first arrived, but it was only for the best. A new beginning some might say. Darren had one of the more drastic changes in personality when no one was around, and some might have a hard time keeping up the charade, but Darren was very good at it.  
  
I turned back to fiddling with my sword and pretended to have not the slightest interest in the chosen topic. "Explain what exactly?"  
  
"Please explain what the hell is goin' on with findin' all three of these kids at one time! I thought you told me that we had plenty of time! You told us that the end of our world would come in years not days!"  
  
"Obviously, I was in error." I said simply, letting my vision fall onto a pebble on the floor so they wouldn't ask any more questions. Well, quiet frankly, I knew they were going to ask more questions, I just liked to put a little...tension on their nerves for the fun of it.  
  
"Thina!" Darren said, turning to the girl who wasn't concentrating at all on the two sided conversation. "The prophecy didn' say anythin' 'bout them all comin' at once! Why did you tell us otherwise?"  
  
Thina looked up from her trance, looking at Darren in one way, but not completely looking at him. She had a tendency to see without seeing, know without knowing, hear without hearing. She saw everything in her 'sixth sense' as some people would call it.  
  
[A/N: More on that later.]  
  
"Actually, Darren, the prophecy," Thina answered mistily, "-didn't say anything about time and appearance at all."  
  
"Then why did you tell us that they would be comin' at different times!" Darren said, making his frustration well known.  
  
"It was just, what people call them nowadays, a hypothesis. I assumed they wouldn't be coming all at once, because most prophecies of the future like to drag things out. The first line could be in ten days and the next line in ten years." I said, "Apparently, this prophecy isn't like others I have known."  
  
"Then what exactly does the prophecy say?" Cavamick asked, "I think it best that we all know this.  
  
Thina closed her eyes, "The prophecy states this whole ordeal very shadily. Not very detailed about the events, but it makes it's urgency key, and is a clear warning of great danger."  
  
"What does it say?" Darren growled. "Tell me!"  
  
Thina sighed, "It comes from an Ancient Egyptian tomb, destroyed long ago. Because no one knew of our kind, and the prophecy seemed to revolve around the 'Dream Realm' it wasn't important enough to stand. Luckily, I was able to find and read it before it was too late. It says:  
  
'The number of three will be the end of the Dream Realm, by the holders of the sun, pyramid, and beetle items. Of heroism, unbalance, and spirit, they will come, quietly and quickly, no one will realize the mistake before it is too late. The protection of heroism will only end in tragedy, the protection of unbalance will end in chaos, the protection of spirit will end in destruction. Protect one, and the Dream Realm will fall. Shield none from the world, and one would pray for death itself.  
  
'Theft will bring forth new feelings, death will bring forth new beginnings, attackers will bring forth new power, treachery will bring forth the very end of time. As two prevail, the third will not. Only the strength of one's magic blood will keep them alive. If failed, the beauty of the world will slowly turn to darkness and anger, or be trapped forever in a cage unseen."  
  
"Lengthy isn't it?" I said, "In other words, either way you put it, we're screwed."  
  
Darren pulled at his hair and let out an angry breath, "Then what are we supposed to do, huh? Just stand here and wait for it to happen?"  
  
Thina joined her ring fingers and looked up at us with her pupil-less white eyes, "The prophecy goes on.  
  
'Once the eyes of the heir of the sky open, difficult it will be to achieve the goal set before them. If the earth opens before the sky, and water before darkness, then there is still hope.'  
  
Thina placed two fingers in her lips in deep thought, then nodded as she concluded, "Then it ends."  
  
"Sound's like a load of gibberish to me..." Darren muttered, "How do you know what it's even talking about for sure?"  
  
"If you pay attention to the smallest details, then it is an easy answer. Details hold the world together, you see. The smallest bit of thread will hold together the most beautiful tapestry if used correctly." Thina answered, her eyes slowly turning back to their regular color.  
  
I nodded, "It's immensely complicated. Sadly, it's saying in the first part that for whatever we choose, there is a consequence. And none of the consequences are better then the one before it. It's pretty clear about three coming and going through different obstacles on the way to reach a certain goal of some sort, even though I don't know what that goal is quite yet."  
  
"A goal." Cavamick repeated, "Do you think that...that they know what the goal is yet?"  
  
I shook my head, "I doubt it. All three of them seem completely clueless about the entire situation. The destined third had no idea how they even got there at first, and I think they are still confused where exactly they are and how everything works around here."  
  
Cavamick crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned up against the cave wall, "They are the lost souls of our realm. I feel for them."  
  
I paused before continuing with the prophecy, "They say the three are of heroism, unbalance, and spirit. I don't know which is which, and unfortunately that would be a great clue onto what this whole thing is. We could assume that the list of items right afterwards are parallel to the first detail, but that would be too much of a drastic assumption."  
  
"And you are positive it's talking about them three and not the flaws of the Dream Realm?" Cavamick said, staring intently at Thina and myself.  
  
"After many hours of thinking, yes, I do. There is one part that I hadn't understood until now. You see, the prophecy doesn't say anything about names. The only clue I had to what their names might be, was a single line. It states, 'If failed, the beauty of the world will slowly turn to darkness and anger, or be trapped forever in a cage unseen.' The BEAUTY of the world."  
  
"What's your point?" Darren said, starting to get grouchy and depressed from discussing the end of the world I could see.  
  
"Beauty. The name Caitlin means 'Virginal Beauty.' Wouldn't you believe that there isn't another soul in the Dream Realm with a name that is remotely like 'Beauty'. I believe, that they are talking about the beauty of the world, Caitlin, turning to darkness and anger or being trapped forever in a cage unseen."  
  
Silence.  
  
"So you mean to say, that you think that Caitlin is going to go evil?" Darren repeated with a cock eyed expression that gave me the idea that he wasn't following my explanation very well.  
  
"Well, yes. Along with the other parts, I think that it is her that is supposed to bring about the end of the Dream Realm and the end of her very friends and allies because of it. 'Treachery will bring forth the very end.' One can only assume but I've gotten this certain, vibe from her the entire time. Yoko even mentioned it when she came back."  
  
"Bryac," Darren said slowly, "I think you're overworking yourself with this. Something about this whole ordeal doesn't fit right with everything else. What about that part at the end, huh? The whole thing about the sky or the earth opening up or something?"  
  
"I haven't a clue what that part means." I said in reply simply, "But I think we're going to find that all out soon. I don't suspect Ryou or Yugi, it's just Caitlin I don't trust."  
  
Darren rubbed his temples and closed his eyes in deep concentration, "Fine, Bryac, we'll believe your story. But don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself? Do you REALLY believe that the girl is just going to...kill us all off like that?"  
  
"We don't know for sure, you never can. But it's the one that makes the most sense. I'm not saying that Caitlin is bad exactly yet, or that she will murder you in your sleep, just be careful around her."  
  
Darren sighed, "Does she know? Does she know that she's supposed to...to do all that?"  
  
Thina shook her head, "No, she does not. But, she will learn soon enough, whether we tell her or not."  
  
"But don't you think we SHOULD tell her? Just so she has an idea?"  
  
"He wants to give her an idea..." Bryac muttered, "Tell me Darren, what sort of an 'idea' would it give you to find out you are not only supposed to bring about the downfall of your friends but ALSO the whole Dream Realm and everyone in it? What would be the benefit of that?"  
  
"I'm jus' saying Bryac maybe if she knows she can stop herself before it happens!"  
  
Thina again shook her head, "She will try to stop herself, you don't need to tell her. She will find out on her own and do everything in her power to stop herself and in turn, be her own undoing."  
  
"The only hope we have so far, seeing as we don't have any idea what the prophecy is trying to get to right yet, is that we get them home as soon as possible." I explained to them, raising to my feet from the cave floor.  
  
"But no one gets out of here!" A newer member of the group named Gale exclaimed, "It's impossible! Believe me I've tried a number of times and there is simply no escaping death!"  
  
"There is a way." Thina cooed, "Legend tells of a fire sorceress long ago who brought forth the Dream Realm into being. She only created one way out, a single way that we know nothing about. The legend says that the way out is almost living, but never breathing. Almost dead, but never sleeping. Always hungry, but never starves. It says that this, 'way out' waits for fresh life to feed on, and only if one uses it correctly will it be used for the purpose it was created for. If not, the poor soul will be destroyed...from the inside, out."  
  
"It HAS to sound more dangerous then it actually is." I said quickly, noticing the stunned looks on my fellow comrades faces. "But it's the only way to return them to the Realm beyond our own."  
  
Cavamick smiled a little, "Well, it's up to you I guess. I'm just thanking the lord above that I'm not the one who has to take them there."  
  
I glared at him, suddenly remembering the perfect little vote that said Yoko, Thina and I had to train the 'newbies' for possible war. With a last and useless comment from Darren, and the meeting was adjourned. Everyone agreed that they would help Yoko, Thina, and me take care of the three as best they could and aid us in any way they could see possible. Darren took it upon himself to volunteer a small number of them to sail us across the Opanian Sea, because he thought I 'Won't be able to live a day alone with them without deciding to kill them all off.'  
  
The Opanian Sea was the only thing separating this land from the land of civilization. This forest was more deserted then anything else. All the people built their homes and villages on the other side of the Sea, because monsters of all sorts inhabited this land. Only the bravest and strongest could survive. This, is exactly why our Cave of Alliance is located here. We would be taking a large ship across the Sea, because although there was a narrow bridge of land connecting the civilized world from the monster inhabited, the land was far away. Not to mention, right on that sliver of a bridge was the most dangerous of all places found in any realm: The Nightmare Region.  
  
No one was ever the same when they returned from The Nightmare Region. It was told, that they lured you into giving up your fondest childhood memories. Once you let your mind completely enter the Nightmare Region, it showed the worst memories you ever had and then your future. Of course, it wasn't really your future, it was manipulated to fit your worst fears into a made future. No one known had been able to come out again without being scarred for life, and all, monsters and people alike, stayed away from it.  
  
"What IS that!?" I heard a voice shout.  
  
I sighed, recognizing the voice as Yugi's. He probably saw something strange and freaked out. Darren smirked at my expression and started to tell all of my men a long and detailed story about how the adventures with me and the others were going to go. It went something like this.  
  
"As soon as Bryac starts teaching those little kids how to work magic items and swords, he's going to explode. Bryac couldn't teach a mole how to burrow! 'Oh yes Bryac, I just wanted to know how to use this sword correctly?' Then Bryac will say something like, 'No, leave me alone.' And then Caitlin will say, 'Oh hi Bryac! I just wanted to kill you and the entire Dream Realm today ok? Well bye!' And then, (according to Bryac) she's going to blow his head off with a sword and take over the world one person at a time by blowin' their heads off. It is a fool proof plan! Then Bryac will be able to say, 'Oh gee, I knew that she was trouble.' Only then I'll have taken over the 'evil Caitlin' and be the ruler of the world and everyone will love me except Bryac, who (if you recall) is dead at the moment."  
  
Much to my annoyance, at this, everyone burst into a laughing fit. Darren had something about him that made people laugh all the time. He could make you laugh at something completely un-funny and had done it a number of times.  
  
"Isn't that right Bryac?" Darren continued, "The only way to save yourself from frustration is going to be to kill them all off! And for some reason, I don't put that past you."  
  
It was true that they were already starting to get on my nerves, especially the one who was supposed to kill of the Dream Realm as we know it, but Thina made it clear to me that if I kill off any of them then I 'will be cursed for all eternity for threatening to change fate' and my 'efforts will be in vain' anyway. We were all made our way back into the sunlight in peace and quiet. Subject to our own thoughts and confusions while I tried to plan where I would even start the search for something out of pure legend. Sunlight hit our faces as we neared the end of the cave, and we thought that we would find Yoko, Yugi, Caitlin, and Ryou all sitting patiently waiting for us. Sadly, that image was ripped from my mind as I heard a scream come from just outside.  
  
*~ Ryou POV ~*  
  
[A/N: Aw heck, it's getting harder and harder to give clues on who is the one whose talking, and it's harder to read, so I'm just going to tell you.]  
  
The ground was wet from the storm we were in a while ago. The trees were wet, the bushes were wet, my hair was wet, my cloak was wet, the grass was wet, everything was wet and soggy and mushy. Although the sun had come out at last, that didn't mean that it made sitting out in a patch of shade any more comfortable.  
  
"So," Yoko chirped, "How is everyone doing?"  
  
All three of us looked up at her lazily and groaned. She smiled, as usual, and picked a strange yellow and purple flower off the ground. It screamed bloody murder when lifted from it's soil, and made us all stare at it in horror. Yoko took no notice of the screaming, and hummed while picking each little petal off until there was nothing left but a purple stem. She sighed and blew the petals into the wind, watching them fly away, then turned to us.  
  
"Did that flowers...screamed at you?" Yugi said in shock.  
  
Yoko cocked her head and grinned, "Yes, but it doesn't matter. You learn to ignore the screams when desperate measures are needed."  
  
I couldn't help feeling a little awkward about the reply, but no one else seemed to take it the way I did, so I tried to brush it off. Everyone sighed in unison, and a bird chirped in the distance. It was very quiet. It was also very boring. Luckily, Yugi broke the silence.  
  
"So, Yoko," Yugi asked, "Strange question, but if we all had to take on new names, did you have to take on a new name too?"  
  
Yoko nodded, "Of course silly! It's part of the fun of dying and going to the Dream Realm! It's a new change! My old name used to be Sidonia, but you can be anyone you'd like in this new environment! No one, except you of course, HAS to change their name, it's just something that most people like! I had a friend that-"  
  
She said all of this so very quickly I wasn't able to interrupt her fast enough when I said, "Wait a minute, DYING? You mean everyone here is...DEAD?"  
  
Yoko nodded excitedly, "Every single person! You see, everyone that dies in their dreams comes right here. It doesn't matter if they died in Medieval times and was a princess, or died in the rise of Rome and was a peasant. Everyone here is dead and living together in a strange new place! In fact, Bryac and Thina died a long time ago, while I've only been here since Yukio started to go power hungry around a year ago. Time isn't a big issue here but I'd say I've been her about only...two years or so."  
  
Everyone froze as she talked. Even Caitlin, who had been here in the Dream Realm longer then we had, stopped and stared in disbelief at the cheerful Yoko sitting in front of us.  
  
"If everyone here is dead though," Caitlin said, "-how could that person in the cave...well...die?"  
  
Yoko shrugged, "One of life's strange things I guess. See, once you've been killed here, you stay there for a while because your soul doesn't know where to go next. You've already died and gone to 'heaven' so now what, but then you kinda disintegrate into a billion pieces and blow away and your soul exists no more. The lucky ones find their way into a new body in the Shadow Realm, or the Human realm, but that doesn't happen very often."  
  
My jaw hung open, "That's...terrible."  
  
"Yes, well, it's kind of hard to kill people here anyway. You have to have a specific amount of magic, or a certain weapon to kill them. If Bryac didn't have a Blessed Blade then he couldn't kill anyone. It would just cut them and they would have to suffer for a while without an arm or a head or something."  
  
She was grinning from ear to ear in spite of the dank subject matter, "That's why you didn't die Caitlin! Hugo doesn't own a Blessed Blade! And it's also why you needed that potion to make your boo-boo go away, otherwise you would still have a cut on your arm! If he DID have a Blessed Blade then you would have died slowly and painfully from blood loss!"  
  
"That's creepy." Yugi said under his breath, but then ignoring it, pressed on, "But it's not a normal thing to have magic in our world. Why does it seem popular here?"  
  
"Well, there is something in the air that makes it a whole lot easier to do magic in the Dream Realm here. Everyone who lives and breathes has their own special magic, it's just easier to use it in the Dream Realm then in other places. Everyone has some special talent, too, even if magic isn't their thing. Like Thina, she can see into the future and stuff and Bryac is the King of the Sword!"  
  
"Does the magic air or whatever make it hard to concentrate here too?" Caitlin asked.  
  
Yoko shook her head, "Nope. But don't worry, Caitlin, it's an easy spell to learn. Making people not concentrate is an easy way to get them to let some extra information spill."  
  
Caitlin glared at nothing in particular and cursed under her breath. I sighed and looked down at the ring. I couldn't help wondering what was going on in our own realm. How was my Yami doing at running things? I did my best to push the frequent pictures of him getting into trouble and fight and sending any innocent person on the street to the shadow realm out of my mind...but it was very difficult. I could only hope and pray that nothing REALLY bad happened while we were gone, and that we could get home as soon as possible.  
  
Suddenly, Yugi froze and turned his head slowly to the side and stared at the bush behind him. "Did anyone else see that?" He asked, in nothing more then a whisper.  
  
Yoko stopped smiling, "See what?"  
  
"A big...monster thing. It was all green and black and had horns and three eyes. I only saw it for a split second but I know I wasn't hallucinating. Nobody else saw it?"  
  
We all shook our heads, but Yugi didn't calm down. He shifted uncomfortably on the grass, and never looked away from the bush. Then, I heard it. A low hissing noise came from right behind the bush, and it made me jump when I listened. It disappeared as soon as I noticed it, and I couldn't help feeling as nervous as Yugi had looked a while ago. Yoko continued to be oblivious to the sound, but Caitlin started to get suspicious at the looks that we were giving each other.  
  
"What's wrong?" She asked, "Did you see that thing too Ryou?"  
  
I nodded, and pointed to the bush weakly. "I think there's something behind there."  
  
Yoko looked up from her daydream-like state and looked puzzled at our expressions. "I still think you all are just being silly-"  
  
All three of us 'Shh'ed her immediately, and the bush rustled once again. I listened intently as the hiss formed words.  
  
"You will never succeed....what you are doing to my family...to my PEOPLE...you will pay...."  
  
I yelped, and slid a little farther away from the bush, "What did it say?"  
  
Caitlin cocked her head, "What do you mean? I don't hear anything."  
  
Yugi shook his head; "I didn't catch that either."  
  
"Please calm down friends." Yoko said, "I think you are being a little too jumpy!"  
  
Suddenly, Caitlin screamed and jumped to her feet. She looked pale and her hand was shaking terribly. "I TOUCHED SOMETHING!"  
  
"Touched-"  
  
"IT WAS HUGE AND SLIMY AND BUMPY AND IT FELT LIKE IT WAS COVERED IN WARTS! IT WAS LIKE A REALLY BIG HAND AND I TOUCHED IT!" She shrieked again.  
  
Yoko's smile faded again and she looked to the cave, where The Alliance was coming out to meet us at the very moment. When Yugi, Caitlin, and I told Bryac and Darren the whole story about what we had been encountering, they didn't believe us completely and answered with an eye roll. They said that there were tons of different animals around here, and we would be fine.  
  
"It's dark." Darren said, looking at the sky that had begun to fill with stars that just seemed to have popped up in the last four seconds. The moon got brighter ever minute, and my fear of the voices perked up again. I felt like I was wearing the one shirt that was popular in Domino that said, 'I hear voices and they don't like you.' These voices defiantly didn't like us.  
  
Darren laughed at our expressions and protests and said, "Don't worry lads, you've got a few top shape swords men here that will be able to protect ya!"  
  
When we had set up a camp in the dark cave, everyone went to sleep almost instantly. They didn't hear the voices though, and except for my Yami, I wasn't one to hear voices like that. Somehow, sleeping in the middle of a group of swordsmen did nothing to help me calm down, and I stayed awake almost all night. Of course, I fell asleep at some time or another, and had a dream.  
  
There was a long stick. It was in the ground firmly and I was just staring at it. Then there was a girl, and she took the stick from me. She told me that if I took the stick I would be making a mistake, but I didn't listen. I took the stick from her anyway, and then I heard someone calling for help.  
  
I went to look for them, but I couldn't find the person. No matter how fast I went, no one was around me. They kept calling for help, and crying, but no one was helping them. More and more people called for help until there were millions of sobbing voices calling for me. I couldn't find anyone, and then, I saw blood on the ground.  
  
"You're too late." A voice told me.  
  
I looked up at the person who talked to me, and gasped. There, standing in front of me, was-  
  
~  
  
"You will pay for what you did....you will pay with your lives....all of you!"  
  
My eyelids flew open as I heard the hissing voice again. Footsteps followed the hissing voice, and I looked to my left. Bryac was sleeping there, and it would only take a shove to wake him up and warn him, but I was frozen. I was torn between warning everyone, and startling the voice into attacking after seeing me move. All I could do was lay still as I heard the footsteps coming closer to me.  
  
"Look at them..." The voice said, "Sleeping like little angels...makes me sick...do they not feel guilt...? I will kill you off, human....and all your little friends too...."  
  
I held my breath and shut my eyes, hearing it talk sent shivers down my spine. I felt my body wince and stiffen up and clenched my fists. I was about to wake Bryac up on the side of me, but never even got there. A large hand grabbed me tightly around the neck and lifted me into the air.  
  
I could barely breathe, and all my cries for help went unnoticed. No words issued from my lips but a small squeak-like noise, and a low laugh came from behind me.  
  
"You think I didn't notice you awakening? I can hear your fear like you can hear my voice."  
  
I was lifted tighter, and even less air was allowed into my lungs.  
  
"Few people can see me when I don't want to be seen. Touch me, when I do not wish to be touched. Hear me-"  
  
His grip tightened to almost completely blocking off my air supply and I struggled in mid air wordlessly.  
  
"-when I don't want to be heard."  
  
"Help..." I tried to yell, hoarsely, now unable to breathe entirely.  
  
I used my last burst of energy to struggle my hardest for freedom. I wasn't ever particularly strong, but this was a matter of life or death. The creature holding me up chuckled deeply and squeezed me to the limits of his strength.  
  
"Stop struggling boy." He hissed at me, "You and all your little friends are surrounded with all my strongest men. There is no hope for you now."  
  
And with that, my vision blurred, and all I saw was a swirl of dark colors followed by black.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author- Oh boy, this is bad. Sorry for not only the sorta late chapter, but also for the short one. I've been having bad writer's block lately, and I just don't know how to cope with it properly! :-P  
  
Ah well, it's going to be a while for the next chapter to come up I'm afraid. I'm going on a vacation to Virginia this time, and although I'm leaving Oct. 9th, I won't be back until Oct. 21st or something like that. *sigh* Yes, faithful reviewers, that means you won't know what happens to poor Ryou until then.  
  
The good part about that, is I'll hopefully have at least a few chapters done by then to post. ^^ Sorry to leave you hanging at such an inconvenient time. Boy, I'm going to get flamed to this one...Anyway, buh-byness for now! SUNC!  
  
Oh yes, on more thing. I thought I'd leave you with a few kewl anime pictures I found on the internet!  
  
This sorta looks like Caitlin, if it gives you a better idea-  
  
http:// animecrisis. net/ pics/ wall3. gif  
  
And another one I found on the same site. It's amazing how well it fits with this one chapter in particular, and you'll better understand it later, but you can still appreciate how pretty it is right now!  
  
http:// animecrisis. net/ pics/ stars. jpg  
  
Isn't that person a great artist? Hats off to them!  
  
Note- The idea for the Tupok monsters I have been using in this chapter came from a Graphic Novel called 'Inu-Yasha, Volume 1' by Rumiko Takasashi. I just spiced it up a little! ^__^ Don't ask how on earth I got the idea for these monsters from that book, just believe me. 


	12. Trust and Betrayal

I'm finally back from Virginia and Maryland! Both were really nice, and the weather there is beautiful! Now, I want to take this time to once again, thank you for continuing with this story. I know, I've thanked you probably three times more then a normal Authoress does, but hey. *shrug* Remember how I said there was a small number of chapters that I was worried about writing? Well, last chapter was number two in the 'WORRIED ABOUT WRITING' file.  
  
I hope it came out OK. I know that too much information is boring, but I had to get it over with some time or another. Hopefully now you have an idea what is going on, instead of being completely lost. If by any chance, you are completely lost, send me an e-mail and I can explain it all to you and fix the confusing parts! WE CAN BE FRIENDS!  
  
Yes, well, now we are on the next chapter. Which sadly, is still not going to explain what happens to Ryou and the rest right yet. I title this chapter, 'Not to be Trusted'  
  
~*~  
  
"NOOOOO!" Cami screamed, struggling as I held him down in the chair. "NOOOHOHOHO! LET ME GOOOOO! LET ME BE FREEE! FREE I SAY! FREEEEE!"  
  
"Will you please hold still!" I snapped, uncapping the tube of lipstick and doing my best to apply it on a struggling 5000-year-old Egyptian male. Although, it didn't turn out right, smeared, and made Cami look more like a clown then anything else. But I was satisfied nonetheless.  
  
This was about the time Bakura walked in, looking quite damp from being out in the rain. He had a very cross look on his face. But of course, the moment he saw me holding down the scribe and putting the red stuff on his lips, his expression changed from cross, to confused, to amused. Cami had what Yugi knew as 'Make-up' all over his face that I had found in Caitlin's guardian's room. It didn't look too good, but the point was, it was on.  
  
"BAKURA!" Cami shouted, kicking fiercely at the sight of him, "SAVE MEEEE!"  
  
Bakura smirked, and leaned against the wall, "And spoil this chance of entertainment? Never."  
  
Cami cried out and did his best to pull from my grip. And sighing, I let Cami go, and he fell onto the ground with a thump. His hair was done up in high, messy looking pony-tails that, because his hair wasn't long enough, looked like large lumps on his head. He was wearing the girl's uniform of pink shirt and a skirt, to which he complained about as soon as he put it on, ("I am SO SICK of pink!") complete with a sparkly necklace, bracelet, and gaudy ring.  
  
His face was coated with make-up. His blush was over done like his eye liner and eye-brow pencil, and covered most of his face. Even his lip stick was a strong, dark red that clashed horribly with his entire outfit and hair. Most of the make-up was used the wrong way to substitute something else, and he looked completely insane. As soon as he got up off the floor, he glared at me and crossed his arms in front of him.  
  
"I don't see why this was necessary..." He complained, "You've taken away everything I had left as a guy! Not to mention the tiny bit of pride I had left..."  
  
"It had to be done, Scribe, and now that it's finished, we can leave." I answered, putting away most to the make-up in a bag.  
  
"I'm never going to be able to pull this off!" He whined, "NEVER! I don't act like a girl!"  
  
"Want to bet on that?" Bakura muttered, collecting his schoolbooks from the table.  
  
"You'll just have to learn." I said, "Step one, your voice has to be higher, and you have to talk more like a girl would."  
  
"Example?" Cami said in a higher voice, motioning his hand for me to keep going.  
  
"For example," Bakura said, "If I came up and hit the books out of your hands, you would...?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
Bakura groaned, and handed him a pile of magazines from the coffee table, "Here.  
  
Cami took them awkwardly, but as soon as he had them in his hands, Bakura knocked them down again. "Now, what would you say to me?"  
  
"I say 'Get lost.'" Cami answered angrily, forgetting his high voice.  
  
Bakura slapped his forehead, "No, act more like a female would."  
  
Cami paused, then put on a fake grin and clapped his hands together. Then, he said in a higher voice, "Get Lost."  
  
Bakura muttered angrily to himself, then said, "Alright, Scribe, I'm only going to do this once. It was necessary to pose as a woman a few times to gain access into different area without getting caught."  
  
Bakura picked up the magazines and pretended to have them flung from his hands. He pulled his hands up to cover his mouth in a swift movement.  
  
"Oh dear! Look what you did!" He shrilled.  
  
A beat. Then both Cami and I burst out laughing hysterically.  
  
[A/N: I'm not trying to down put females or anything. I AM A FEMALE. But I mean, come on, it's Bakura here. How would HE portray them? Not to mention, although Bakura helping is a little OOC, he probably DID have to pose as a girl once and a while to steal what he wanted.]  
  
Bakura fumed instantly and started ranting that 'This is why I DON'T HELP PEOPLE OFTEN!' In no time at all, I was holding my side because of all the laughing and Cami was on the floor, rolling around and occasionally slamming his fist on the ground. I couldn't help myself, I don't laugh much because nothing is funny to me.  
  
...But you have to admit, seeing Bakura acting like a girl is pretty darn hysterical.  
  
"Ok, ok-" Cami said, brushing the tears from his eyes, "Sorry Bakura, it's just- oh my gosh I wish I knew how to work that camera over there!"  
  
He gestured to the camcorder on the table, and gave Bakura one last sigh before he stopped laughing completely. Bakura had the angriest face on, and I'm surprised he didn't jump on us for laughing that hard. (However I'm sure the thought crossed his mind more then once)  
  
"You know, this would really be a good morning if The Pharaoh would act like a girl too." Cami said, grinning.  
  
I instinctively thought of revenge for bringing up something like that, but controlled my anger down to a simple glare. Bakura could sense my annoyance though, and he looked half glad that I got 'punished'. Suddenly remembering something, I grabbed a bottle of liquid make-up from the bag and approached Cami with it. He whimpered.  
  
"What are you going to do with that?" He said, backing up against the wall.  
  
I explained, "I'm going to spray you with this stuff, and then you keep it in your backpack in case you need it again."  
  
I sprayed it a few times in Cami's face. He tried to shield his face with his arms, but it wasn't working very well. Bakura and I exchanged looks as he choked, coughed, and made loud over exaggerated gasping noises right before falling over on the floor and letting his tongue hang out.  
  
"Get up Scribe." I said, slipping the perfume away. "We don't have enough time to play around like this."  
  
Cami's leg twitched in response, and Bakura rolled his eyes so far his entire head was facing the ceiling.  
  
"Come on Tomb Robber, let's wake him up." I said with a sigh.  
  
Bakura suddenly brightened, a smirk casually curling onto his lips, as he replied, "With pleasure."  
  
Bakura advanced to the semi-conscious scribe, still dramatically sprawled out on the ground. Actually, I think Bakura really meant to smack him upside the head and scream in his ear to get back at Cami for not appreciating his help, but he didn't get that far. As soon as he got within two feet of him, Bakura immediately covered his nose and staggered back.  
  
"Ugh! He smells like Ryou's grandmother!"  
  
I glanced at him, "Bakura, what are you doing smelling other people's grandmothers?"  
  
Another deadly glare from the Tomb Robber, and I was glad to hear the doorbell ring. Although it was dangerous, I decided to leave Bakura to waking the scribe up so I could answer the door. When I opened the door, though, I was happy to see my Tea standing there. She looked a little wet from the rain and had a genuine smile spread as far as humanly possible on her face.  
  
"Hi Yugi!" She said with a smile.  
  
"Hello Tea. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, I thought you might want a ride to school, seeing as this isn't a good day to walk to school." She explained, holding up her pink umbrella.  
  
I nodded, feeling better knowing that I didn't have to go to school in the storm. There was a honk from the car waiting for us in the street, and Joey waved to us. Tea held up a finger at him to signal she wanted 'one minute', then she turned to me.  
  
"You ready for school? Joey borrowed his dad's car so we didn't have to get wet. Is everyone up and dressed and such?"  
  
A heard a loud screaming noise followed by loud running in the house and a, 'BAKURA I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!' Tea cocked her head in confusion, and I just sighed in response.  
  
"Yes, we're ready." I said.  
  
"Ok, good. The storm's getting harder, and we're already late for school, we'd better get going."  
  
"Just hold on a minute, Tea, I'll get the others."  
  
"No, wait a second, I have....a question for you." She said, holding my shoulder as I turned to leave.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Well...uh...this is kind of hard to say but...is it true that Yugi and Ryou are in the Shadow Realm? And that right now Bakura and you are in control of their bodies?"  
  
I paused at the question, realizing that Tea hadn't asked about the whole thing in the past two days. It would be natural that she would be confused and curious. I nodded to her, and Tea's face darkened a bit.  
  
"I thought so, but I wasn't completely sure. I sure hope Yugi and Ryou are alright, wherever they are."  
  
"I'm sure they're fine Tea. You don't need to worry about them."  
  
"Yea, well...well go ahead and get everyone else so we can get to school."  
  
"Come on in Tea, I'll be back in a little bit." I told her, going off to get the others.  
  
"Alright Yugi...er...Yami."  
  
I followed the running footsteps through the house until I found Bakura and Cami pelting each other with pillows in the guest bedroom.  
  
"THAT. WAS. NOT. FUNNY. BAKURA!" Cami yelled, hitting him with every word, messed up hair and shirt soaked with the red, sugary beverage we had recently found in the fridge.  
  
"IT'S. YOUR. OWN. FAULT!" He answered, clearly hitting Cami a whole lot harder then he was hitting Bakura back.  
  
I cleared my throat to let them know I had come into the room. They stopped and stared at me, pillows still clenched in their fists.  
  
"May we help you?" Bakura said coolly.  
  
"Tea is here to pick us up for school." I told them. "Get your stuff and get ready to go."  
  
"Aw man." Cami grumbled, "I was hoping you'd forget about us and leave...."  
  
"School isn't what I've been looking forward to either, Pharaoh." Bakura said, lowering the pillow and glaring at the backpack on the floor. "It's no fun if you can't banish anyone to the shadow realm or turn them into plush dolls."  
  
"Tea is waiting for us, so get your stuff and let's get going. They are going to drive us in Joey's father's car so we don't have to walk in the rain."  
  
Cami's face brightened instantly, "He's got a car? Awesome!"  
  
"I'm fine with the rain." Bakura said stubbornly. "I didn't need a car five thousand years ago and I don't need one now."  
  
"Just come on Bakura! Cars are fun!" Cami said, scooping up his backpack. "I've driven one once, and they go all fast and stuff! Only, I'll never get to drive one again because Caitlin said there was no way in hell she'd let me because I 'almost killed us all' or something like that. I don't know what her problem is, but anyway-"  
  
Bakura sighed as Cami chattered mindlessly about cars and followed me down the hallway anyway with his backpack. That was about the time we heard a loud almost deafening crash of something very heavy falling.  
  
We all jumped, and curiously followed the sound of something being hastily moved around.  
  
"Tea?" I said, loudly.  
  
A quick gasp and another crash came from the kitchen. Now someone was moving something around very quickly and there were banging noises, like someone was trying to force something back into place and failing.  
  
"Yami!" A clearly frightened voice exclaimed, "You're back already, hold on a second I'll just--"  
  
"What are you doing in there?" I said, walking after Bakura and Cami into the kitchen to see what was happening.  
  
There stood Tea, trying her hardest to push the drawer back into where it first resided. All the kitchen drawers were opened and emptied, with the random items spread out on the counter or the floor. There was something else that caught my eye as I observed the scene...  
  
One of the knives from the display was missing.  
  
She looked a little pale when we came in, and as soon as I come toward her she dropped the drawer on the ground for the third time, causing it to crack in the middle.  
  
"What were you doing Tea?" I said, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Look, Yami, I can explain. I was just looking for...for...my pony-tail holder I left here the other day." She looked guiltily at the drawer and added, "I can pay for that, Yami, I promise. And I can clean up this mess, I swear it!"  
  
I was about to ask her a few more questions when the car horn rang from outside. Tea jumped, but looked relieved as she grabbed her umbrella and backpack from the patch of kitchen counter that wasn't covered in junk.  
  
She hastily left the kitchen and called to us, "That's Joey, we need to get going."  
  
We all glanced at each other, gaze lingering on Tea as she rushed out the door, each with the same questioning looks on our faces. I gave a last look to the knife display again before I left, and the four of us piled into the car.  
  
"Hey guys." Joey said, sending a smile while pulling out of the driveway.  
  
The car was unusually neat. There wasn't a paper out of place, and what was more, there was an air freshener in the cup holder. I looked around the car a few times before noticing something very out of the ordinary.  
  
"Where's Tristen?" I asked Joey, "He doesn't think he's going to ride his motorcycle in this rain does he?"  
  
It took him a few minutes to respond to his name, and turned uneasily to Tea before answering, "He's staying home from school today. He's sick or something like that."  
  
Tea nodded to us, and then continued looking through the front window absently again.  
  
"Are you sure this is the way to school?" Bakura said, looking closely at the scenery, "This isn't the way we walked the other day."  
  
"It's a short-cut." Joey said, taking a sharp turn down a muddy road into a dense forest and making us all slide down the seats in the back.  
  
After about three minutes of driving, I realized that Bakura was right. We were going in the exact opposite direction of school, and the forest we were in looked unusually eerie. Joey and Tea didn't seem to notice, but Bakura seemed persistent on his opinion of direction. He elbowed me gently, so not to draw attention from Tea and Joey in the front seats, and jerked his thumb in the direction of a strange marking on a tree that looked like a deformed arrow.  
  
"Where are we?" I asked again.  
  
"We're going to school, Yami, I told you already." Tea almost growled.  
  
"That's what you say, but I've never seen this part of the city before." I continued.  
  
"Look Yami, I know what I'm doing." Joey spoke up.  
  
This seemed to only get continuously more and more awkward. I thought it queer that Joey knew that I was Yugi's Yami already, when Tea had to ask. It didn't set well with my train of thought.  
  
"...Hey, do you think we could turn on some music?" Cami asked innocently, completely unaware of the whole situation we might be in.  
  
Tea leaned over and flipped the radio on, the voice of a female reporter quickly breaking the silence.  
  
"The rain is continuing harder then ever." The reporter said, "We're gotten almost six inches of rain in only a day, and reports of frequent flooding are coming from northern Japan. The storm seems to be getting continuously worse, and although most of Japan's weather has seemed to calm down back to usual patterns, the worse part of this 'storm' has seemed to stop right over Domino. Experts don't know how to define this sort of weather, and can't explain the strange formations."  
  
"There will be more on the reports at 7:30, but for now, we warn all people outside to find shelter as fast as possible." A male reporter finished, "On other news, there have been reports on strange cereal murders over the past two days, and experts say-"  
  
Tea turned the radio off again, and we heard nothing but rain. I was more then confused. These incidents just didn't seem to flow right, the clues just didn't fit. Determined to get more information, I started up another question.  
  
"Where IS your father, Joey?" I asked.  
  
Joey again, hesitated a little before saying something, "I think he's at a business meeting."  
  
At that, I knew that there was defiantly something wrong with this picture. Joey's father would never go to a business meeting,  
  
"Where's Joey?" I said. "What have you done with him?"  
  
A weak laugh from the 'Joey', "What are you talking about Yami, I'm right here."  
  
"You aren't the right Joey." I said again, "What have you done with him, you imposter!"  
  
Tea chuckled, pulling the missing knife out from her backpack and pointing it at us. "Well aren't we a smart cookie?"  
  
"We're coming up to the location." Joey informed Tea with a grin.  
  
"You haven't answered my questions, were are Tea and Joey?!" I shouted at them.  
  
Tea looked slightly bored at the conversation, and yawned a little before placing the knife down on the dashboard, "They are in good hands, you might say, you don't have to worry about them. In fact, they are waiting at that mortal school of yours and going through the day as planned. Your other friend, Tristen, is waiting for us at the planned location. They are still alive for now, but if you try anything funny, boys, I'll just have to terminate them all."  
  
"The doors are all locked." Joey said, "So don't even bother trying to open them."  
  
Tea lowered her voice to speak to Joey. "How much longer is it going to be? I'm telling you, I can't wait much longer."  
  
"A little longer then I assumed. The mud here is thicker then I planned, and the rain-"  
  
Suddenly, the car jerked abruptly to the side and Tea hit her head on the side of the car seat. Joey only barely put us back on course, and turned the windshield wipers on as fast as they would go. Tea glared at him.  
  
"I would kill you and the runts off right now if I hadn't promised Hugo I'd let him do away with you. I swear, he gets to do all the fun things. But money is money, you know, and after Yukio gives us the signal, you are so dead." Tea threatened.  
  
"N-no, you don't understand! I can't see anything any more!" Joey exclaimed, "The rain is getting too thick! I can hardly see a thing and the dirt road is filled with pot holes! I need to stop or we'll crash!"  
  
"Don't you dare stop!" She screeched, "We have a deal with Yukio to deliver these kids and kill them off and we're going to stick to the deal! Drive!"  
  
"But all the hail is going to break the-"  
  
"I SAID DRIVE!" She said, grabbing the knife and pointing it at his neck, pricking a single drop of blood onto the blade.  
  
While she was arguing, I was able to reach far enough to flip the switch that unlocked all the car doors. Tea was shocked, and was about to slice me up when I felt a jerk on the seat.  
  
We were jostled around, and the car kept getting faster and faster as it shock violently. I dug my hands into the crevasses in the seat to keep from flying into the back of the car as we were sent almost straight down. This was out chance. Bakura struggled with the car door on his side, and was able to swing it open in the nick of time.  
  
All three of us jumped for our lives out of the car and landed face first in knee deep mud. Well, almost. The mud was slippery, and because we had been going down a huge hill coated with it, all of us ended up sliding down the cliff after the car.  
  
It wasn't as fun as it sounds.  
  
Occasionally, you'd hit a large rock on your arm or rear end as you slid, and you just couldn't stop! In spite of the ride, I didn't understand why the fake Tea and Joey didn't jump out of the car after us.  
  
And finally, after all that, we skid to a stop at the bottom of the hill, Bakura's hair so caked with mud he looked more like a brunet then anything else. I didn't even want to picture how I looked as I pulled a branch from my bangs and flicked it onto the ground.  
  
Cami choked and coughed up a mouthful of mud. "That was...too much adventure."  
  
I just laid there for a minute in the mud, not moving because of how much energy had been taken from me from struggling. Suddenly, a thought dawned on me. I pulled myself out of the mud and looked around.  
  
"Where is it?" I exclaimed, raising shakily to my feet and scanning the area around me.  
  
"Where's what?" Bakura said grouchily, wiping himself clean best he could.  
  
"The car." I explained, "The car that those Joey and Tea people were in, where did it go?"  
  
"Who cares." Cami said, "At least we're alive."  
  
"But the car was right there when we were falling, and it didn't even leave any tracks down the hill. Its like the thing wasn't even there in the first place! Where did it go?"  
  
They looked around. There was no evidence that the car had touched the mud. Only our tracks from sliding down were marking the mud. It hadn't hit a tree, or been able to go back up, where had it gone?  
  
"Why would they just disappear like that?" Cami said, also getting up, "I thought they wanted to kill us. Why would they just give up like that? They didn't even tell us their names or anything!"  
  
"They'll be back." Bakura said, picking something up from the mud and wiping it off.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
  
"Because," Bakura explained, holding up the item, "They left their hand mirror."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author- I apologize for this short chapter, but I couldn't think of much more and I wanted to end with sort of a cliffhanger. Well, if you're confused, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I'll tell you this much, it isn't just any old hand mirror... ^^  
  
Again, R&R! I love hearing from you guys! Cause you're my loyal reviewers and readers and yay! Hats off to you!  
  
SUNC! 


	13. Blood Stained Dagger

Author- Thank you all my loyal readers, once again! I must thank every chapter, because, its fun. I luv daylight savings time. ^^ I get to stay up an hour later every night, and sleep in an extra hour. What's not to like?  
  
Disclaimer- Yeah yeah I know, 'It's about time she wrote one of these' and in my defence, does anyone REALLY care? Because I had a little too much time on my hands, I made a whole list at the bottom of the story that says what I do and do not own. Now for the review responses!  
  
= = = = = = = =  
  
^^ Aw well, sorry loyal readers but that is the way of the story. And now, time to write readers back for their review! In fact, TWO reviewers! YAYNESS! TWOTWOTWOTWO! (My face looks sorta like this right now: ^________________^ )  
  
Livi- THANKIES for the review...s! I'm so happy that peoples take enough interest in my writing to tell me what they think at the end of the chapters. Just so's I know I'm still doing ok and not pooping out. : P Ok, here's the reason Cami was able to read the magazine when Caitlin was gone. She was still half existing between the shadow realm and the real realm. As soon as she entered the Dream Realm, which was about when she ran into Hugo and when Yami and Bakura entered the room, Cami lost the ability to read. He never noticed it because he stopped reading the magazine at that time. The rest of the memories went pretty soon after. So there's the reason. ^__^  
  
...man I'm getting way too complicated with these stories. I have about a bazillion rules to follow, that I made for myself! e_e  
  
Kelsey- YAY! YAYAYAYAY I'm so HAPPY PEOPLES LIKE MY WRITING THAT MUCH! ^____^ AND People like Caitlin and Cami, I am so proud of myself. And I'm glad I deserve more reviews! That makes me happy too! Action is coming up, in the very near future. As I said before, the beginning is a very slow point of the story. I've even found a way (And plot) that incorporates action (sorta kinda) into the Physical Realm as well. But if I stink, just say so and I'll fix it right up. ^^; And don't worry too much about Ryou, although I have put him in a lot of hard moments, (poor Ryou...) I'm not going to let my favorite Bishie die anytime soon!  
  
*glomps Ryou*  
  
NOW TO THE ACTUAL STORY!  
  
= = = = = = = = =  
  
Caitlin struggled with her losing battle against the bars that trapped us. She muttered to herself and used every means possible to try and pry them open, none of the idea's working. I cast a skeptical look to Darren and Cavamick, who both sighed in return.  
  
"Why wont it open...?" She growled, turning around and pressing hard against it with her back. "Stupid stupid stupid thing won't open."  
  
It had been a long time since almost all of us had woken up in our cage. It was a huge dome shaped building, like a canary cage (only about the size of a two car garage), built with mostly ferns and long sticks of bamboo. There was only one thing that looked remotely like a door was tightly suspended, and no one could open it.  
  
I had no idea how we had gotten here, or no idea where almost half of my men were, and that made me feel uneasy.  
  
It's never good in the Dream Realm not to know what's going on.  
  
I didn't even know if it was night or day yet. The only light in the entire building peaked out from the small gaps in the bamboo that whoever built this cage forgot to fill in with ferns. The light dropped small patches on the ground that allowed us to see.  
  
There was a loud banging noise, and a few pieces of dirt fell from the top of the roof and rained on us. Instinctively, I turned to see who did that, and not to my surprise, I realized it was Caitlin.  
  
No surprise there at all.  
  
"OPENOPENOPENOPEN!" She screamed at the door, giving it another kick that sent more dirt and fern down on us.  
  
"Caitlin!" I hissed. "Don't, do that!"  
  
She glared at me for a moment, then at the door, then stormed off to the other side of the cage and sat on the ground with her arms crossed on in front of her chest. Needless to say, she did not look happy.  
  
But her war was not yet over.  
  
Suddenly, she growled again and ran straight into the door with her shoulder without warning. All the men covered their heads with their arms when the third plague of dirt fell. Caitlin cursed very loudly and gave the door one last kick before returning to her patch of ground.  
  
NOW, her war was over.  
  
There were a few soft laughs from my men as they observed Caitlin's frustration from a distance, and I secretly wondered how the hell I was going to be able to live with someone like that. She acted upon impulse, and that could be a major flaw and disadvantage to her entire education in magic, or even in surviving in general.  
  
Many of us were playing around with random item, such as our swords or tassels on clothing. Two of our number, were sleeping. These two being Yugi and Gale.  
  
We had given up on Gale a long time ago. You had to learn quick that he was a greatly deep sleeper, or you would end up wasting a ton of time and energy trying to wake him up. Though so far, Yugi didn't seem to be much better.  
  
"Yugi..." Yoko said again, trying for the second time to wake him by shaking his shoulder gently, "Wake up Yugi."  
  
Yugi groaned and covered his head with his cloak. Yoko sighed and tried again, shaking him more vigorously.  
  
"Yugi, you have to wake up!"  
  
Another groan in reply, but no other sign he was waking up at all. Caitlin rolled her eyes while muttering, 'amateurs...' and leaned over Yugi.  
  
"WAKE UP YUGI!!" She screamed in his ear.  
  
Yugi jolted awake and rubbed his ears; "Jeez. You didn't have to yell so loud..."  
  
"Sorry, but I'm in a bad mood." Caitlin said with a quick glare at the door. "Ryou's gone, I don't know where the hell we are, and that STUPID door won't open!"  
  
"Oh..." Yugi said, eyelids drooping while he spoke, "Oh ok..."  
  
"You know," She said, turning to me and Darren with mock sweetness, "You two have SWORDS. This place is made of WOOD and plants and stuff. Why don't you just CUT through the thing and we can go find Ryou and save our butts!?"  
  
"Already tried." Darren said, pulling out the sword and attempting to slash through the wall.  
  
Unfortunately, the sword went right through the wall without so much as a rustle as the sword cut through. The wall didn't even look like it was touched when he pulled his sword back and put it back into it's place.  
  
"This whole thing is an illusion." He explained.  
  
Caitlin looked about ready to rip her hair out. "If it's an illusion, then WHY CAN'T WE JUST WALK THROUGH IT!?"  
  
"Tupokian magic." I cut in, realizing quickly the conclusion that Darren had already come to. "This must be Tupokian magic, because you can't puncture it and it leaves no trace of ever being there, but it feels real to only us. Only Tupoks can create something as complicated as this, which means..."  
  
"Which means that we've been captured by a bunch of Tupok Monsters." Darren said, nodding and letting his head fall onto the wall of the cage.  
  
I ran my hand through my hair and mentally cursed. Just our luck, we were attacked by Tupoks on the day we found the little destiny runts. Yugi looked more awake now, and looked curiously from me to Darren with great interest.  
  
"What are Tupoks?" He asked, "Are they dangerous?"  
  
"Of course they're dangerous!" I snapped, looking around for any other way out of the cage, "Did you think they would be fuzzy pink kitties or something!?"  
  
"Tupoks are very dangerous beasts." Cavamick said, sending me a 'look' for being snippy. "People without a single drop of magic pulsating through their veins don't even know they exist, but they are extremely deadly to both magic and non-magical souls alike."  
  
"Part of what makes them dangerous is that they get to choose when people get to see them or not." Darren brought up, "They can choose if they want to be heard or touched or seen or even smelled. Not that anyone would want to smell them, it's said that they smell so putrid that the soul that catches a single whiff could drop down dead."  
  
"Wow..." Yugi breathed, both fear and amazement starting to fill his eyes, "They're that bad?"  
  
"Yes." Cavamick said, a hint of a smile playing upon his lips because Yugi was paying such close attention to his tale; "There are, however, a small number of people who can actually see or hear or touch the Tupok when they don't mean to be seen or heard or touched. Those people are a great annoyance to the Tupok. They don't like being exposed to just anyone. In fact, there aren't very many of those people left, because the Tupok kill them off if they find them."  
  
"Terrible isn't it?" Darren offered.  
  
"And you know what else?" Gale said drowsily, grinning with his eyes still closed and his legs still scrunched against his chest. "They eat too. A lot."  
  
"Eat what?" Yugi asked.  
  
I instantly knew that Yugi was playing into Gale's hands and rolled my eyes. Gale cracked his eyes open and looked at Yugi evilly, raising his hands like claws up by his face.  
  
"They eat...human flesh." He hissed. "Especially living human's flesh."  
  
A few spooky 'Oooooh' noises came from random members of The Alliance. They were always very vocal about these sort of things, and Yugi gave them much to be amused by with his look of horror.  
  
He was obviously still too groggy to notice the smirks and false sincerity from the others.  
  
Tupoks really didn't eat much, but when they did, it was something small like a mouse. But to tell the truth, I had no intention of telling Yugi this any time soon, and went back to my current problem.  
  
How was I going to get out of here? And where were my last men?  
  
=*= Ryou =*=  
  
[A/N: Just before you ask, Ryou is in something like what The Alliance is in, only smaller.]  
  
"Get up, you."  
  
I felt a hard kick on my side that shocked me out of an almost peaceful sleep. My hand's flew to where the white hot pain was pulsing and I quickly rose into sitting position. There was a gruff laugh from behind me that made me jump, and I spun around fearfully.  
  
"Aren't you paranoid?" The voice chuckled.  
  
I was sure I heard a voice, but there was no one in the small hut I had been resting in. I trembled a little when the idea of, 'Ghosts' surfaced in my mind, and tried to remain calm.  
  
That was very hard.  
  
"W-who said that?" I said, eyes flying around the room for any movement.  
  
Another hit. Only this time, I was hit against the face. Although I had become used to blows like this, taking into consideration that I had a pretty abusive Yami, I wasn't ready for any of these attacks, and didn't like the surprise.  
  
Without much time to dwell on my wound, I felt the front of my shirt being lifted into the air not unlike last night. Last night when voices attacked me...what was going on here? There was a difference to being lifted this time though. This time around, the 'ghost' didn't seem to be trying to kill me.  
  
"You should die." The voice growled in my ear, "You should die with the rest of your friends. It's all because of you."  
  
"I d-don't understand!" I managed to squeak, "What did I do!"  
  
I was lifted higher, "What did you do!? Because of you all my people have left me to join the war! I have no people left and it's all your fault!"  
  
"Please! I still don't understand! How is it my fault for the war? I haven't even been here!"  
  
"That makes no difference!" The voice answered coldly, "Because of your role in destiny my people are gone! Without you there would be no war! Without you my people wouldn't leave and continue to die out before my eyes because of the cruelty of Yukio! I can do nothing to help them and it's all your fault!"  
  
I was thrown from the air against the wall and felt my head hit hard wood. I clutched my head with my hands and closed my eyes in and effort to ease the pain.  
  
"I hope you suffer." The voice said coldly, "I hope you suffer and die because of what you've done! Damn you! I tried to choke you to death but you just wouldn't die!"  
  
I was shaking with pain and fear for my life. I hadn't even really done anything and he was going to kill me. I was ready for a hit that would kill me, a hit that would destroy me forever like this creature's wishes, but it didn't come. Instead, I heard a low humming noise, and a figure appeared in front of me.  
  
It was almost human like, as in it had two arms, two legs, one head, and a normal looking body. But he had three eyes all in a row where only three should be, and he was much bigger. His skin was a tint of green that I had never seen before, covered in large dark green welts and warts that went down to his feet. His hands and teeth were razor sharp, and in his hand he held a long sheathed dagger.  
  
With a loud battle cry, he charged at me with the dagger and swung at me. As soon as I realized he was trying to chop my arm off, I barely dodged the blow by rolling to the side. Blow after blow was thrown at me, and because I was unarmed, I could only dodge the swings.  
  
"DON'T MOVE!" He screeched at me, "IT WILL ONLY DELAY YOUR FATE! I WANT YOU DEAD!"  
  
I ducked as he swiped the dagger at my head and ran to the other side of the room. The more angry he got, the more inaccurate his blows were.  
  
But they also came faster, and the longer I dodged, the slower I became.  
  
The monster approached me, murder in his eyes and dagger at the ready in his fist. I had no where to run now, I was trapped without anything to protect myself with. I was doomed.  
  
"Aw, trapped like a rat?" He growled, raising the dagger above his head with both hands, "You never should have come, Destiny Bearer, you and your friends have caused nothing but pain and trouble among the land. But no worries, I end your journey now."  
  
I shut my eyes as he lunged to me, and felt my own hand jolt up from where it was to grip the arm of the monster before it hit me. I blinked, amazed at my own reflexes as I took this chance to yank the dagger from his hand and drop it onto the ground. The monster was as amazed and shocked as I was, and he pushed me against the wall with both hands.  
  
"How dare you touch me." He hissed, "How dare you still live. Why do you live!? Why won't you DIE!?" [1]  
  
I kicked him in the stomach with my knee and knocked the wind out of him, the thought finally clicking in me that this was a life or death situation. The monster let me go for a split second, just enough for him to catch his breath again and me to again grab the dagger from the ground and point it at his chest.  
  
"G-get away from me." I said, trying my best to sound threatening. "Or I'll have to hurt you."  
  
The monster wasn't fazed at all by my threat, and just stood still, eyes bugged out and glued on the dagger in my hands. My shoulders and hands were shaking at the intensity of the moment, and I did my best to stay calm.  
  
"I said get away." I repeated, letting the dagger come closer to the beast.  
  
"You wouldn't kill me." He said, smirk starting to show on his face, "You don't have enough back bone to be able to kill me off."  
  
He took a step forward, as if to emphasize his point, and I backed away. I didn't want to do what I needed to. Seeing my fear, the monster came even closer so I couldn't back away any further. He touched my with his index finger and laughed.  
  
"Not much of a threat are you?"  
  
He came even closer to me, if it was possible, and raised a clawed hand into the air right over to me. He smiled demonically and I flinched at the thought of being cut to ribbons. In one last laugh, he screamed, "Now I have you!" and started to come down on me.  
  
I had no choice. In order to save myself, I did something I never thought I would ever do.  
  
I killed him.  
  
I shoved the dagger into the monster's chest like I promised I would, and looked away as I felt warm blood trickle onto my fingers. I let the dagger go in disgust. The beast gasped when I did it, and he fell to his knees on the ground, dagger still embedded in his chest. He choked for air, and had to put his hands onto the ground to support himself. I was trembling like mad now, not daring to even look at my own blood stained hands as my eyes strayed again to the monster I had stabbed.  
  
I felt an overwhelming pang of guilt in the pit of my heart, and although I had no other choice, I felt unbelievably dirty. I killed him. I had a blood thirsty Yami, and even HE hadn't killed anyone. I did. I killed him. I felt a hand on my arm and I looked down at the monster. He opened his mouth to speak, took a last gasp of air, and his eyes started to glaze over.  
  
"D-damn you." He whispered, letting his grip fall loose and his eyes glaze over completely.  
  
He was dead. I killed him.  
  
In my shock I stood in silence, not knowing if I could face anyone yet. How would I tell them? How could I admit to anyone but myself that I had murdered someone? I closed my eyes for a minute to escape the world around me, then whipped my hands off on the walls around me. Shaking a little, I pulled the dagger out from the monster's chest and wiped that too, off on the wall, knowing I might need it again later. I couldn't just wallow in self pity, there was too much going on. I had to find the others.  
  
Because the walls were made of, what seemed to be, wood and plants, I found it easy to cut through to the other side where new sunlight met me. It was morning already. Before leaving, I gave one last weary look to the body on the ground.  
  
"I'm sorry." I said softly.  
  
In response, the whole thing dissolved into a sort of colorful dust before my eyes and flew away on the breeze. Yoko had mentioned something about people doing something like that when they were killed, I remembered. Grasping the dagger firmly, though my body still felt weak, I ran out the hole I had cut in the wall to find my friends.  
  
=*= Yugi =*=  
  
After many, of what seemed to be, hours, I had come to a conclusion.  
  
It was very dull being trapped in a wooden cage.  
  
There was nothing for me to do here. I didn't have anything to fiddle with, I didn't have anyone to talk to, (Except Caitlin, who was currently having a 'bad day' and not very sociable) and as soon as Yoko let me have her stick to draw with, it broke.  
  
Bryac seemed to be thinking about something, the entire time, that was very important. I didn't really feel like asking him what that was, and so I sat in silence. In fact, Gale was the only one in the whole cage that seemed to be as bored as I was. He kept fidgeting against the wall and trying to get back to sleep.  
  
"Hey Yugi." He suddenly said, "You still alive over there?"  
  
I looked at him and nodded, "Yeah, what is it?"  
  
"I've got a question, and it's kind of weird but, what the hey. What's the world you live in like now?"  
  
It seemed all ears perked up at the question, and I was reminded that all of them had been dead for quite a while. Everyone looked eagerly to me, and I blushed a little at the attention. How do you even begin telling someone that looked, based on his attire, like he was from at least a thousand years in the past, about your world?  
  
"What would you like to know?" I asked him.  
  
Gale stretched and smiled, "Is that how people normally dress in your time?"  
  
He pointing at my shirt and jeans and a few people laughed.  
  
"Yes." I said with a sigh, "This is how most people dress."  
  
"Wow." Gale said, "Now tell me, Yugi, how many hours in the morning does it take you to put all those belts and buckles on?"  
  
"And do your hair!" A random person from the group joined in.  
  
Another groan from me. This conversation was not turning out how I planned it would go.  
  
"It doesn't take me very long." I answered, "I've gotten used to buckling buckles fast, and I don't have to do more then run a comb through my hair to get it looking good. Its natural."  
  
A loud gasp from everyone in the cage, and they all laughed at their own joke. I didn't see what was so funny, and gave up talking to them all together. Boredom was better then being tortured with stupid questions about my hair. Caitlin shrugged at me before continuing to plot against the door.  
  
Suddenly, we heard a deafening noise that made everyone's hands fly to cover their ears. It was like long nails on a chalkboard, only a lot louder. Light flooded the room as the noise grew even more terrible, and then it was gone. We all turned to look at where the light was coming from, and saw none other than-  
  
"Ryou!" I said, getting up from the ground and going over to him.  
  
"You killed the door!" Caitlin cheered joyously; pointing at the fallen mess of bamboo and fern that had once been an unopenable door before Ryou cut through it.  
  
Ryou smiled at us and came inside, but strangely, he didn't look all too happy. Sure he looked relieved to find us, but he didn't look happy about something. He had a bruise on his cheek that hadn't been there before, and in his hand, was a dagger. Bryac noticed this the second it was possible and snatched it from his grasp.  
  
"Where did you get this?" He demanded, holding it up to the sun and making blade on it shine.  
  
"I took it." Ryou admitted, "Something tried to attack me and I took it from him."  
  
"Do you know what this is?" Bryac said, still examining the dagger thoroughly. "This is the Dagger of Kusdai!"  
  
By the way everyone but Caitlin, Ryou, and I reacted, we could tell this was some great find. And now that I got a better look at it, I could tell it was a gorgeous weapon. The hilt was a deep black color, with each side of it stretched out longer then most daggers I had seen in my life. The blade itself was perfect and new looking, but everything else looked old and used to its limit. In the middle of the hilt, there was a small looking sort of skull that was painted with thick silver. Bryac swished it around a few times and marveled at it before continuing.  
  
"The Dagger of Kusdai is only as strong as it's wielder. It's affected by your emotions, you see, and it's what people around here call a 'Blessed Blade.' Blessed Blades are very rare to find, because not only are they the only blades to be able to kill off another, but they usually have some sort of magical properties to them." Bryac explained.  
  
"This is wonderful!" Yoko chirped, "Now Ryou can learn how to be a swords man like you, Bryac!"  
  
"You MUST tell me where you found it, Ryou," Bryac said, a sort of eagerness and excitement in his eyes I hadn't seen before, "The Dagger of Kusdai has been missing for centuries by now and you found it!"  
  
All eyes turned to Ryou, who shrunk back at the attention. He fiddled with a piece of his hair nervously and looked down at the ground.  
  
"I got it from someone who attacked me." Ryou said, "Or something, rather. It tried to kill me, but I got the dagger."  
  
"Tried to kill you?" Caitlin said, eyes wide, "Well that makes two of us, now all that's left is for someone to try to kill Yugi and we're all on the same page."  
  
"What did this thing look like?" I asked him.  
  
"Like a person, strangely enough, only...greener and...sharper. More like a beast then a human even though he more resembled a man."  
  
"That's Tupoks for you." Darren said.  
  
"I knew it." Bryac nodded to him.  
  
"Why did it try to kill you?" Gale said, quizzically, "You, of all people."  
  
"I-I'm really not that sure. He kept saying something about how the war was my entire fault and how his people abandoned him. He said he wanted me to suffer and then die." Ryou said, voice lowering as his gaze lingered on the dagger in his hands.  
  
"Where is he now?" Darren asked.  
  
Ryou flinched at the question and, again, averted his gaze to the ground. Hesitation was easy to sense as Ryou looked like he was going over everything again in his mind. Finally, in a defeated sort of way, Ryou sighed and shook his head.  
  
"I killed him." Ryou said softly, words barely audible.  
  
No one knew what to say to that. Although I'm sure Bryac, Gale, Darren and everyone else besides us in the building had killed many a soul in the past, they seemed to understand something I didn't. Something about killing someone for the first time. Ryou looked like he was silently grieving, and didn't make eye contact with anyone.  
  
"You killed him?" Darren repeated, "Well, that's your first big step."  
  
"True." Gale jumped in, "It'll be easier the second time, and you won't mind it as much."  
  
Everyone glared at Gale as Ryou tensed. I was sure that hearing about his, 'second time' wasn't helping.  
  
Ryou had never especially liked having a Yami. Although Bakura and Ryou had sort of, come to grips with each other and started to get along better, there still was this distance between the two. Ryou didn't want to be like his Yami, and therefore, didn't really try his hardest to get along. He looked to him more as a bad influence, and whatever Bakura did Ryou saw as something to avoid doing. Ryou was very particular about not saying things Bakura would say, liking things Bakura would like, or doing things Bakura would do. Just accidentally cursing, to Ryou, was a travesty. And even though Bakura talked tough, he had never actually killed anyone.  
  
And now Ryou had done what Bakura had never achieved.  
  
Bryac gave it a second of quiet before clearing his throat and adjusting his belt. "Come on, everyone, we've got to start back up again if we ever hope to reach the Opanian Sea before nightfall. Gather your things and let's go."  
  
Everyone picked up their belongings from the ground and headed out the hole Ryou had created. On the way out, Bryac patted Ryou on the shoulder and muttered, 'You'll be alright.' Ryou nodded weakly, still not looking up, and let out a last sigh. I followed Darren out the hole in the wall and Caitlin came up behind me. She touched me on the shoulder and pulled me aside, now obviously feeling better that her door feud had been avenged.  
  
"Yugi," She said, "You think Ryou will be alright?"  
  
"I'm sure he'll be ok." I answered, "He'll snap back, just wait."  
  
"I hope so." She said, looking at him from afar, "Because I've been overhearing Thina and Bryac talking lately, and, well-"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh Yugi." She said with a droop in her shoulders, "We've still got a long way to go before we get home, and a lot more problems like this to face before we're through. This is only just the beginning."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author- ^^ OK! I'm finally done with this chapter! I'm sorry if this went a little bit slower and more, dramatic then usual. I just wanted to get it really known that Ryou is REALLY shook up about this. I mean, what would YOU do if you killed someone?  
  
Anyway, next chapter is going to be back in the Physical Realm, but you wont get that for a little while. -.- My school work is really starting to pile up on me now, and I've got a piano competition coming up, and humanities and literature and UGH!  
  
Anyway, to make it easier for me (and you I think) I'm going to be making this a weekly thing. You'll get a new chapter every Sunday (maybe Saturday, depends) and that will be my schedule! If there's a crisis, or I finish a chapter extra early then you'll have to excuse me from the rule.  
  
~ NOW, THE LIST OF THINGS I DO/ DO NOT OWN ~  
  
LIST- I do not own YGO, I do not own Yugi, I do not Ryou, or Tea, or Joey, or Tristen, or Bakura, or Yami, or the Millenium Puzzle, or Ring. I do not own The Shadow Realm, or the High School the YGO peoples attend. I do not own the tree out my window and in my story, or the computer I am typing on this very second. Isn't that sad? It's almost mine.  
  
I DO however, own- The Pink Frilly House, the Mother, Jena, Caitlin, Yoko, Bryac, Gale, Thina, Darren, Yukio, Kanika, Cami, The Dream Realm, Gylimde, Cavamick, Montaii Birds, The Blue Flute, the Bow of Courage, the Tupok monsters, The Temple of Time, The Nightmare Region, The Drop of Star, Sidonia, Hi Hime Zaria, The Falsers, The Golden Sword, The Blessed Blade, the Cursed Arrows, The Field of Nothingness, Dream Water, The Cat Monster, Hugo, The Jewel or Koden, the Dagger or Kusdai, The Accursed Sliding Puzzle of Doom, Rewunon, and a whole big bunch of other junk that I am too lazy to write down.  
  
THANKIES PEOPLES! R&R AND I'LL SUNC!  
  
[1] = If you remember, Ryou has the power to hear the Tupoks. The only reason he could touch it, was because the Tupok had let his anger get hold of him and let his guard down. That's also why he turned visible. If Tupoks can't control themselves, they temporarily look their powers except for smell.  
  
Which really, Darren and Cavamick were kind of messing with Yugi about and just throwing that in. The whole story that goes on about how some people can smell Tupoks is a myth. There's just a little bit of background information for you. ^^ 


	14. A Talking to from The Principal

QUICK KEY-  
  
Blabla- Just plain talking  
  
*bla bla*- Emphasis on word/words  
  
BLA BLA- A bit more emphasis and/or yelling.  
  
*BLA BLA*- Largest amount of emphasis, sometimes used for sarcasm or if someone is already yelling.  
  
~:~:~  
  
Author- 'Lo again peoples! ^^ I wanna thank Livi and The Happy Reviewer again for the review, now I know the chapter was good enough. It took me FOREVER to come up with a satisfactory chapter! I rewrote the whole thing about a billion times with different plots. It finally came out OK though! ^___^  
  
Ryou- *sniffle* _ _;  
  
Author- ....^^; Well, Ok to most people. *huggles Ryou*  
  
Ryou- *is slightly confused, makes the O.o face, and looks around nervously*  
  
Author- *squeal* ...Ryou...  
  
Ryou- -.-  
  
Author- Well, because I'm trying to cut down on the talking before chapters-  
  
Caitlin- *scoff*  
  
Author- *glare* Hey, I made you.  
  
Caitlin- *double scoff* SOMEONE would have made me some time or another.  
  
Author- Yes, but it wouldn't be the same. Either that, or I would have a very common type of mind. (!.!) Better get to the fic before someone comes up with this STORY too.  
  
~*~ Tristen ~*~  
  
Darkness.  
  
Not a speck of light in sight. Only hints of occasional bold colors flashed before my eyes.  
  
Faces.  
  
Faces of everyone I've ever seen in my entire life on fast foreword in front of me.  
  
I didn't think. I didn't feel. Was I even there?  
  
Finally, light. A flash of light only barely seen among the darkness, but defiantly felt. There was a scream as the knife caught the light enough to be noticed, and sliced down on something. The scream rang forth and pierced the black, filled with agony and fear.  
  
Was it my own?  
  
Then, darkness once more.  
  
"Get up."  
  
Barely more then a whisper in the back of my mind, a voice called me. Suddenly, I felt. My eyes were closed, my hands were asleep, my legs were motionless. I was lying on something.  
  
"Get up. We have a new use for you now."  
  
I forced my eyes to open, and saw light at last. I sat up quickly when I saw I was in my room. I had my clothes on, but was tucked under my sheets. The rain was still beating mercilessly against my window, and the house sounded empty. My eyes scanned the room, but there wasn't anyone there. No one to tell me to get up, no one that knew I was asleep at all.  
  
I was alone.  
  
"Was I dreaming?" I asked myself. Now, normally I wasn't one who opted for talking to himself, but I wanted someone to hear me and speak up.  
  
No one came forth. I pulled myself from under the sheets and started to walk down the hallway into the deserted house. My bare feet stuck a little to the tile floor, but that was the only sound, save the rain. Maybe it *was* a dream.  
  
"It seemed so real." I told myself, tearing open a granola bar and sitting at the table; "How did it go again?"  
  
I could barely recall the visions I had seen, and felt very upset at myself. Just my luck, I couldn't remember a dream that might be important. Like, a vision into the future. Who knows, maybe I'm a psychic like that Espa dude!  
  
"Think." I told myself, "Let's see, there was...a knife or something. And someone screaming, and...faces or something? Crud!"  
  
I sighed, and caught a glimpse of a note scribbled on the other side of an envelope. Slightly confused, I picked it up and read the message.  
  
"Dear Tristen." I read, "When I got up this morning, you weren't in your bed. I'm just assuming that you already are going to school or are with your friends. Next time, remember to *tell* me when you aren't going to be here in the morning. I was worried! I had to leave for work earlier then usual this morning, and won't be back until late tonight. There's a TV dinner in the freezer you can eat. Your father called last night and says he will be home tomorrow morning from Hong Kong. Anyway, hope you have a good day sweetie! Love, Mom."  
  
"B-but, I *was* in bed."  
  
I read the first line over and over again. Why wouldn't I be in my bed? I was in my bed when I woke up. Shrugging it aside for now, I set the envelope down, and looked at the calendar. Then at the clock above the pantry.  
  
It took me about five seconds to realize there was school today, and I was already late.  
  
"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, grabbing my backpack and stuffing it with last- minute homework assignments. I was already an almost two hours late! Why didn't my alarm clock wake me up!?  
  
Stuffing the rest of the granola bar in my mouth, I ran for the door and closed it with a SLAM. I was in such a hurry, I almost forgot to lock the door, but I knew my mom would kill me if I didn't.  
  
"Oh man!" I said, having, now, to walk to school because the bus had already left.  
  
"Teach' is gonna kill me!"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"This is the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends. Somebody- started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll just keep on singing it forever just because it is the song that never ends," Cami sang under his breath, barely keeping up with the rest of us, "-it just goes on and on my friends, somebody, started singing-"  
  
"Will you stop it!" I snapped, turning around long enough to send him a glare.  
  
Cami was aghast, "I can't do that! It's an unwritten rule to never stop a song that never ends! That's why it's 'The Song that never Ends'!"  
  
I muttered something angrily in Egyptian at Cami, and continued to traipse through the mud. I hate mud. Almost as much as I hate rain, and hail, which were all combined in one neat little package that was given to me. Having to find something to get my mind off that godforsaken song, I took the mirror back out of my back pocket and started to examine it again.  
  
I ran my finger over the smooth surface of the hand mirror in my hand. It was skillfully made, and so brilliant that it could be worth thousands. There were certain things you looked for if you were planning to steal an item that was worth something. There was a thin, not noticeable strip of gold around the edge of the mirror, and there was no scratch on the entire thing. The back was, strangely, made of blue marble and it had something inscribed on the backside of it. I couldn't' read the inscription because of how caked with mud the mirror was.  
  
I scrubbed it carefully again, and growled as there was no change in the mirrors appearance. I was sure this mirror was good for something. As expensive looking as it was, people don't usually carry hand mirrors around that are worth this much and go and try to murder people. And what's more, they don't leave it tucked away in the door pocket, where I could guess it was because of how it fell out. I could sense a different type of magic in it. A queer, foreign type of magic I knew nothing about. It was more complex, stronger in it's own way. If only I could activate it!  
  
I slipped the mirror back into my pocket, and heard Cami grumble from behind me.  
  
"I still don't understand what make's that thing so special..." He mumbled, struggling to pull his feet through the deep mud. "So they dropped a hand mirror. What's the big deal?"  
  
"It may possess strong magic that would explain who our attempted murderer is." I explained, bluntly.  
  
"You're sure?" He said skeptically, "It's not like people just walk around carrying magic hand mirrors like we do with our items."  
  
"I just know these things!" Bakura snapped, "It's my job to know! Don't be so inquisitive, scribe!"  
  
"I can't help it." He said in a childish way, "I NEED you to explain or I'll be completely lost! You guys are just, so...weird."  
  
Yami and I both exchanged looks, and Cami pretended he could care less what we thought about his weirdness factor.  
  
It had been decided rather quickly, by the Pharaoh (surprise surprise) that we should follow a small creek that had formed at the bottom of the hill until we could climb back up. It was just too slippery to climb up from where we had fallen, and the rain just kept coming.  
  
Yami kept looking over his shoulder for the car that had disappeared like it was going to jump out at him from the woods and kill us all or something. I groaned as then we came up to a part of the creek that was higher then the rest, and almost completely mud.  
  
"I think we're going the wrong way..." Yami said suddenly, pointing in a random direction.  
  
I growled at him. Fool of a Pharaoh, always thinking he's better then everyone else. *I* was leading this group, so if he valued his mortal life, he should just keep quiet. Oh how I wanted to kill him and take away his puzzle, not that it would be of any help now with all the power gone from it.  
  
"We can't turn around now." I said, trying not to leave him room for disagreement, "We'll just have to cope with where we end up in the end."  
  
"And also hope we're alive by then." I added, "Seeing as-- wait, how many times have we been almost killed?"  
  
"Just once, scribe..." I answered, already a whole lot farther ahead of him.  
  
"Yes, thank you-- we've already been tried to be murdered by crazy people that you both THOUGHT were your friends like IGNORANT FOOLS, ONE. WHOLE. TIME!"  
  
They paid me no head, and I didn't know if they could hear me or not because of how far ahead they were by now, so I jogged (more or less) up to them and continued to talk.  
  
"I wasn't ignorant." I told them, "I KNEW they were bad from the beginning. I knew. And you all trusted them, and LOOK WHERE IT ENDED US! WE ARE LOST WITH ONLY A HANDMIRROR! And unless Bakura is right about the magic stuff and that hand mirror can TURN INTO A CAR or a MAP, then we're in SOOOO much trouble!"  
  
"Scribe?" Bakura said.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Say one more thing and I'll strangle you."  
  
"Ok..."  
  
As if a miracle had happened, I heard the sound of sirens up ahead. I ran ahead of the others and poked my head through a thick bush to see on the other side. Ra had saved us! The main road was there in front of us, and we could follow it home. I gestured to the others to follow me, and walked to the road.  
  
I had to admit, it was not a happy place. There were a few police cars parked by a bad accident, and there were two ambulance trucks carrying wounded bodies away to the hospital. When I looked closer, I could see that one of the cars had run into a telephone pole, and the other had run head first into another car.  
  
"It's all the rain." Yami answered without the question being asked, "Come on, we'd better get to school."  
  
Both Cami and I stopped dead in our tracks and stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"School!?" Cami squeaked, "Why do we have to go to school!?"  
  
Yami sighed, like this was obvious, "We must attend school every day, whether or not we are late. Besides, I need to speak with Tea and Joey about the current events."  
  
"Fine." Cami said, jogging to catch up with Yami, "You go to school, I'll stay home and watch the TV conveniently located in my room seeing as how Bakura broke our other one."  
  
"I don't deny it."  
  
"No, scribe, you're coming with me."  
  
"Aww!" Cami whined, "But doesn't almost getting killed count as a 'day off of school free' pass?"  
  
"No."  
  
"AWW!"  
  
"Really, Pharaoh, this is the lowest decision you and your big head have ever made." I told him, also needing to catch up because Yami wasn't slowing down.  
  
"Haven't you learned by now I don't care about your opinion, Tomb Robber?" He said, a tone of annoyance growing in his voice.  
  
~*~  
  
Somehow, the Pharaoh managed to get us all to school. Mud, and all. And somehow else, he managed Cami to enter the building in a skirt. Again, I felt that urge to kill him.  
  
One day I'll do it, I know I will.  
  
"NOOO!" Cami sobbed, "THERE ALL GONNA LAUGH AT MEEEHEHE!"  
  
"Come on Cami!" Yami said, dragging him by the feet across the floor, "We're almost there!"  
  
Cami let out a high pitched scream, that I'm sure all classes noticed right away. I smirked at Yami's look of distress, and for the first time, found Cami's temper tantrums useful. Cami dug his nails into the floor and started to claw at the ground when nothing happened.  
  
"YOU'RE NOT BEING NICE!" He yelled, trying to kick, but failing.  
  
"I know I'm not." Yami said, nearing the door to our class, "But that's just life for you."  
  
+ CHIBI MOMENT +  
  
[A/N: Note that all CHIBI MOMENTS were found on a fic I read and I thought they made sense so I'm using them here. Chibi moments are usually when the characters use chibi like expressions, chibi like actions, or chibi like body language. You can sort of picture it! ^^ Most of the CMs are in my own likeness, so if I say something looked 'cute' that doesn't mean Bakura thought that. It's because I wrote that.]  
  
Yami kept walking foreword until he had stopped in mid step, leg hovering in the air. He had the whole, 'huh?' anime expression on his face and then looked behind him and saw Cami clinging on for dear life on a water fountain. Yami gets the little + thing on his head and continues to pull, while Cami is screaming at him to let him free. Finally, Yami gives a last hard pull, and all three of them (even Bakura, who was standing in front of Yami) get slung back into the wall like a sling shot. All of them pile up against the wall and get those cute swirly eye things.  
  
[A/N: I AM SORRY, but I can picture a chibi Bakura with swirly eyes and it is CUTE! *squeal* In case anyone wants to draw a picture of it... (hint hint) ]  
  
"Are you Bakura, Motou, and Whatshername?"  
  
All anime chibi's look up from their pile with BIG eyes that are kind of smashed, (being on top of each other) and nod.  
  
+ END CHIBI MOMENT +  
  
The woman who had been standing there with a very UN-chibi like stern expression on her face tapped her foot and started to walk in another direction.  
  
"Come with me." She said in a bored sort of way, "Mrs. Falcone wants to have a word with you."  
  
"Don't worry." Cami whispered to us, "It's only a word. What bad things could she possibly say in one word?"  
  
[A/N: Sweat drop and -_- eyes on all of them. ^^]  
  
When the woman finally brought us to the office of Mrs. Falcone, she told us to sit in the three chairs in front of the desk and keep quiet until you are spoken too. I had to hold back a scoff of frustration, and only nodded with a smile. We opened the door, and did what we were told.  
  
There at the office table, sat who I assumed was Mrs. Falcone. Ryou had told me stories about her, and how her duties as the principal usually went down in flames a few weeks after they started. I already decided I didn't like her when I noticed the bottle of nail polish sitting on her desk.  
  
"So." She said, "I have been told you boys came in tardy today, am I correct?"  
  
"Hai." We all said in unison.  
  
"We are very sorry." I added, "An emergency came up and-"  
  
"Somebody tried to kill us." Cami said with a solemn nod of the head.  
  
Both Yami and I glared again at Cami for ruining our perfect excuse. Now it made it seem even more like we were lying! Mrs. Falcone gave us a 'look' and started to file her nails.  
  
"Now, I have also been informed that you have been missing your extracurricular activities classes."  
  
"Our what?" Yami said, "I didn't think we had any other classes."  
  
"Well of course you do!" Mrs. Falcone said, taking out a piece of paper and reading it, "Caitlin Whatshername, you had been assigned art classes."  
  
Cami's eyes got wide, but he said nothing. Although, I could have sworn I saw him mouth, 'I hate school'.  
  
"Yugi Motou, you were signed up for track."  
  
The Pharaoh went a little pale, but he acted like this was neither news, nor anything terrible. I shivered at the very thought of my activity. Ryou was a pantywaist, he probably signed up for knitting or something stupid like that. Then again, it would be cool to have Jujitsu... [1]  
  
"And Ryou Bakura, you were in Jujitsu a little while back-"  
  
YES! MY LUCK! HAHA PHARAOH AND SCRIBE! I RULE! I WIN! YOU LOOSE! I'M THE WINNER AND YOU LOOSE BY A MILE! WHAT LUCK!  
  
"-but unfortunately, that class ran out of space a while back and we had to reassign you into Home Ec."  
  
I couldn't help myself. I slammed my fist on the desk in front of me and stood up. "THIS IS OUTRAGOUS!"  
  
"Mr. Bakura!" Mrs. Falcone exclaimed.  
  
Yami coughed, and I felt my eye twitch as I slowly sat back down and put my hands back into my lap, never taking my eyes off him. Oh he would pay. He would pay dearly for this one.  
  
"Before you leave." Mrs. Falcone said, glancing at me before continuing, "I have received one other, interesting bit of news. Your teachers have not yet been able to grade most of your papers because they say you have been writing in, hieroglyphics. Is this true?"  
  
We nodded, and Mrs. Falcone looked shocked.  
  
"But how? None of you have *really* been all that great at history before, how did you-"  
  
"It's a gift!" Cami said happily, "We've been working on it, does this mean that we get to go home scott free or however that is said?"  
  
"No." Mrs. Falcone answered slowly, still in awe of our, abilities, "It means you will have to redo those papers in the next three days at home so your teachers can grade them. I will also be assigning you extra volunteer acts to make up for the time in school you have lost, and will get back to you as soon as possible."  
  
"Thank you Mrs. Falcone person!" Cami said, grabbing the Pharaoh and I by the backs of our shirts and lifting us into the air, "We'll see you soon but we're very busy actually, thanks for the talking to we'll get right on it buh-bye!"  
  
He rushed us out of the room before Mrs. Falcone could object, and closed the door with a slam. Once outside, he dropped his 'thank you' act and muttered obscenities as fast as he could. I smirked, a strange pride raising in my mind that told me I could say more and faster.  
  
"I don't believe her." He said, "Art. ART! Thoth [2] why art! I couldn't draw a circle to save my life!"  
  
"You got it easier then I did." Yami said, "If track is what I assume it to be, I might have some problems. I don't...like to run."  
  
I didn't even dare speak of my own misfortunes. I was afraid I'd go crazy with anger and never be able to take a class again. I just nodded and kept my thought to myself. The stern woman that showed us where to go nodded at us from her desk as we left the room and made our way into the hallway.  
  
"Just a thought," Cami said suddenly, "How are we going to explain where we were to Tea, Joey, and Tristen?"  
  
The Pharaoh stopped walking whacked his forehead, murmuring his own obscenities.  
  
"What's the matter?" Cami asked innocently.  
  
"I *knew* I was forgetting something." Yami said, "Tristen is still with that fake Tea and Joey. I have no idea where they could be, or what they could do to them. How could I forget about Tristen!"  
  
Cami shrugged, "He's not that hard to forget about."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Calm down Pharaoh," I said, "You're forgetting I still have their mirror with me. I doubt we have much to worry about, and besides,"  
  
I smirked as the ring around my neck unintentionally started to glow, "He wouldn't be that much of a loss if worse came to worse. Think of it as a sacrifice."  
  
Yami glared daggers at me while growling a, 'that's enough!'. I couldn't help how I felt. I hated the little brat. Ever since Duelist Kingdom when he ruined my chances of earning that kid Mokuba's soulless body. He threw my ring out the window and completely destroyed my plan. And for that, I hate him.  
  
"We can go rescue him!" Cami chirped up, "We'll just leave now and go rescue him without going into school!"  
  
"No, scribe." Yami said, getting deeper and deeper into a very bad mood, "I've told you already, we have to work on our studies."  
  
Cami whimpered, but sighed and nodded sadly. "You need to get a life Yami."  
  
"I did have a life." Yami answered, "Five thousand years later, and I still have a life."  
  
"Yeah well, you got gypped in the 'having a life' scale."  
  
"Excuse me, but who was Scribe and who was Pharaoh."  
  
"Tell me something, Yami, how do you fit through doors with that big head of yours?"  
  
"It came with the package of being a Pharaoh."  
  
"You forgot fool."  
  
"Bakura, who invited you into this conversation?"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
[1] I think I know what that is, ^^; If I got it wrong, I apologize in advance.  
  
[2] Thoth is the Egyptian patron god of scribes and writing in general.  
  
Retaw- I'm sorry peoples! I didn't have time to think of a formal ending, so I just left it off where they are walking to class ok? I hope it turned out Ok, and if anything gets cheesy or too OOC, just tell me and I'll fix it!  
  
Anywho, hoped you enjoyed it anyway. And yes, Tristen is at school, the Yami's just don't know that. And yes, I'll be updating next Sunday a little earlier.  
  
Quick Note- UGH! WHAT WAS I THINKING! IT TOOK ME OVER A WEEK TO MAKE THIS CHAPTER SATISFACTORY! WHY OH WHY DID I MAKE TRISTEN BE THE ONLY ONE IN THE LOCATION PLACE! WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT!?  
  
...  
  
oh well, it's fixed now. ^^ But this was the second chapter that took me, what, FIVE TRIES to get right. 


	15. The Boat and the Storm

Author- I dunno how many of them you all are catching, but my gosh! I never realized how many little hints I've been putting into my work until I re- read the whole thing! Maybe this should be more of a suspense fic...I've left little clues for you all throughout the story.  
  
Oh well, you don't really know what you're looking for yet, so I'm not going to get that whole thing started. I'm just going to start the ficcy chap up...right after the review responses!  
  
BluJewl- Hi Brittany! I didn't know you liked fanfiction! Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you like my story, and even though I know this doesn't amount to some other fics I've read. But it's true that the quality of YGO fics has gone way down for some reason. They might have a good plot idea but not be written nicely! So sad...Anyway, YAY! Another person likes my OCs! I'm so glad! ^___^ THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THEN ANNOYING O.C'S/M.S!  
  
Livi- ^^ Thanks again for your reviews! I appreciate every single one of them! Yes yes, it will be fun messing with the Yami's.... *evil grin*  
  
~*~  
  
"OOOF!"  
  
Bryac sighed and helped Ryou to his feet, though rather roughly. Yoko stifled a small giggle, and Yugi hid his smile behind his hand. Even Thina had amusement hinted on her tranquil face. Ryou had been going at that rock for almost a half an hour, and still, nothing happened to it.  
  
"You aren't concentrating." Bryac told him.  
  
"But I AM concentrating!" Ryou protested, getting frustrated at his constant failure.  
  
"If you were, you'd be able to cut this boulder in half without a problem." Bryac shot back, "Blessed Blade's like yours can cut through almost anything is the wielder can concentrate for long enough. You need to awaken the power inside you, and use convert it into the dagger."  
  
Ryou looked reluctant, but he nodded and stood in the stance that was directed for him. Right hand clutching the dagger and holding it sideways in front of him. Left hand in front of the dagger held by the right, and feet both spaced out with one in front of him, and one in back. Ryou closed his eyes, and I saw his muscles tense as he got ready for another attack. There was a flash in the light, and Ryou swung the dagger in one rapid movement against the rock with a sort of shout to help him use more power.  
  
There was a loud clank of hard metal slamming against the human sized boulder, and Ryou stood completely still for about two seconds. Then, his eyes got really big and he gulped right before letting the dagger, which was still vibrating like mad, fall to the ground out of his hand.  
  
"Ow ow ow ow ow!" He said, shaking the hand that held the dagger wildly and rubbing it.  
  
Bryac slapped his hand against his forehead and groaned, "Ryou, you have to slice through the boulder wit the BLADE, not your hand."  
  
"I'm trying!" Ryou said to him, "But it's harder then it seems!"  
  
"You just need to learn how to aim..." Bryac muttered, fingers twining around his own golden sword. "You won't be able to get a descent cut on anything if you can't even have aim enough to touch them."  
  
"Maybe this dagger business just isn't for me." He said sadly, "I still can't get used to the idea of killing other things."  
  
"Look, Ryou," Bryac said, picking up the dagger from the ground and trying to hand it back over to it's owner. "This isn't a weapon of entertainment, it's a weapon of survival and war. Here, it's either kill, or be killed. The other people out there are not going to show any mercy in battle, so you'll have to learn how to do it right."  
  
Ryou looked uneasily at the dagger Bryac was trying to give to him and pushed it away with a shake of his head, "I don't want it."  
  
Bryac looked taken aback, "What?"  
  
"I don't want it." He repeated, "You have it, I don't even want to look at it."  
  
"I can't have it." Bryac told him, temper raising, "You're the one who killed it's old owner, so now, it belongs to you."  
  
Ryou looked away and cringed when he was reminded of killing the old owner. I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. Poor guy never hurt a flea before, and now he was being forced to learn how to kill other people. Ryou's that sort of sensitive guy that you could never picture with a gun, or a sword in this example. I mean, go ahead and try. Try and picture Ryou (not his Yami) holding a gun and pointing it menacingly at someone.  
  
...Can't do it can you?  
  
....Ha, see, I told you. Perfect example, ne?  
  
"It's powerless to anyone else." Bryac told him, "You're the only one who can tap into it's power, and it couldn't cut twigs without that ability! You have to use it!"  
  
"I don't want to hurt anyone!" Ryou said, shouting at Bryac in a way I had never seen before.  
  
"It's for your own good!" Bryac pressed on, "Look, if you aren't going to use it, at least keep it. Like I said, it's not worth anything to anyone else."  
  
Ryou was hesitant, but couldn't decline when Bryac dropped the dagger into his hands and walked away. Ryou just blinked at it for a while, then let out a deep sigh and tucked the dagger back into his cloak. With the training session over, I turned back over to Yugi, who was shuffling the deck he had brought with him. He was going to re-teach me how to duel, seeing as I didn't have much time for it in the last few years, and I was now bored. I knew I'd be more then a little rusty, but I was willing to give it a try again. Yugi announced that the best way to fix that, would be to just jump into a game. Yugi cut the deck, gave me half, and we started.  
  
I drew my hand, and laughed in triumph at what I saw. You didn't have to be a genius to read the cards and see what they did, and I could tell that the combo I had planned was a good thing. Taking a leap of faith, I placed a few cards down on the ground in front of my opponent.  
  
"Ok, I'm going to try starting this game out with playing a few of these cards. I am going to play this Polymerization card thingy, to merge..." I looked through my cards for some good ones, "How about, this Kuribo thing, and the Dark Magician thing."  
  
"What?" Yugi said in half awe, "You got Kuribo AND the Dark Magician in the same hand?"  
  
"Uh huh!" I said, "And I'm mixing the two of them up like the card says to create: THE MAGICIAN OF FUZZ!"  
  
Yugi sweat dropped at my play, "Uh, I don't think it works that way."  
  
"We need to start moving again." Bryac said over the talking people. "Everyone gather your things, and let's get going."  
  
I jumped to my feet and ran over to him, "But Bryac! Yugi and I just started our duel and we-"  
  
He didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice me speaking. He looked at me once, but it wasn't even an angry look. It was just one of those looks that makes you feel like their angry with you, but it doesn't really look it. Yoko linked arms with him, and both Darren and Thina started to talk with him. I was left forgotten with the rest of the people around me. It annoyed me. I don't like being ignored.  
  
"Come on, girl." Said a particularly large man to me as I stood in his way, "Move it."  
  
I glared at him, "Oh, so now I'm 'girl'? I could amount to as much as any guy here, and if I wanted, I could beat them up you know. I'm not useless."  
  
He only laughed in response and pushed me aside like a child. I mentally screamed. How come everyone here thinks I'm not as good as them? Why don't they think that I could do anything good on my own! I lived completely on my own almost all my life and never needed anyone else's help, and I don't need it now. They let Yoko and Thina do things, why not me? I kicked the ground in my anger at the 'He-Man-Caitlin-Haters' and let my shoulders droop.  
  
'Why don't they trust me?' I asked myself.  
  
We walked on and on in complete silence. Yoko had told me, after her conversation with Bryac and Darren, that it was so no one could hear us if they were in the woods. I was dying for some socialization. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, my feelings were hurt, and I needed someone to vent out to. I would have been the first to start talking, but I didn't feel like breaking the silence just that minute. Instead, I was left to my own thoughts.  
  
'I'm going to have to prove they can trust me to do things right.' I told myself, 'How am I going to do that? If they don't let me do things to begin with, how am I supposed to prove I can finish them as good (probably better) then anyone else can? Stupid Bryac...not letting me in on any of the fun.'  
  
I opened my mouth to tell them my thoughts and concerns, but was quickly interrupted when someone pushed the top of my head into the ground. I came up for air and spit grass and dirt all over whoever did that to me.  
  
"What was that fo-?" I began, glaring at the person to the side of me.  
  
Gale pushed me farther down and whispered, "Be quiet, someone's coming."  
  
I would have yelled at him right then and there, but the stupid little voice in my stupid head reminded me that I was supposed to be working on being trusted. I was forced to stay quiet like the others, and wait.  
  
There was a lot of waiting on this trip, and it was all starting to drive this poor girl loopy. I was a, 'Let's just do it' type of a girl. [A/N: No, not like that you stupid perverts!] I wasn't one to organize my things, or plan what I did, or wait. All this not doing much and talking about the future was unnerving. Suddenly, everyone got up. I followed their example when I saw that a group of men had come running over to us, only one female in the mix. Bryac started talking with them, and I noticed quickly that they were the missing men that Bryac had been worried about.  
  
At least, all but that girl.  
  
"Bryac!" I heard one of them say, "It's so good to see you!"  
  
"This is Mauri." Another said, pushing the girl foreword, "She says her master has a boat we can borrow to sail across the Opanian Sea. She says it will be strong enough to take the currents, but she doesn't know if it will be able to take a strong storm if it's sent by Yukio."  
  
"She says that she can't help anyone there." Another jumped in, "She says Yukio has been sinking every ship that's trying to come across, but maybe a shielding spell on the sail will protect it against the waves."  
  
The girl was forced forward in front of Bryac, and she blushed madly. I smiled to myself, knowing immediately that she had a crush on the swordsman. Inside, I thought it was sweet, but in reality, I wondered how the heck anyone could like someone like Bryac? Sure, he was good looking...and?  
  
"My master was going to give the boat away at any moment anyway." She said meekly, "And he says he would rather give it to someone who was working to protect our people from Yukio and keep our lands safe."  
  
Bryac had no expression of happiness or relief on his face, he only looked down on her and said, "Are you sure your master would approve?"  
  
"Oh yes, Bryac!" She squeaked, "Very sure! Everyone knows about you, Soh Bryac-"  
  
"Soh?" I whispered to Yoko.  
  
She nodded, "The term for one who has top swordsman skills, but uses them for good."  
  
The girl blushed again and hid her face shyly behind her hair. "-the one who has men to outmatch the monsters Yukio has pulled to his side."  
  
"So the Tupoks ARE working on the side of Yukio..." Bryac said, mostly to himself.  
  
"Oh yes, Soh Bryac!" She said with a nod, "They burnt down our village in search of some stone."  
  
"A stone?" Bryac said, "Do you know the name of this stone, or anything about it?"  
  
She hung her head, "No sir. I only know that it possesses great power, and Yukio has gone crazy with greed for it, Soh Bryac. He burnt down the last village in this part of the realm, and my brother and father were burnt alive in the flames."  
  
"I see." Bryac said, "Thank you for the boat, can you show me where it is?"  
  
"Yes Soh Bryac!" She said, almost leaping from her current state into excitement, "Anything for you."  
  
At this, I could hold it in no longer. I let out a snort and rolled my eyes, unable to allow myself to watch any of this any more. Bryac looked at me with a cockeyed expression, and the young girl blushed so much she looked sun burnt. Yugi almost laughed at my reaction, but was able to keep better control of himself then I was.  
  
"I will show you the boat right away, Soh Bryac." She said, "Come with me, it's only a moments walk from here."  
  
Bryac nodded to the group, and we all followed after the ecstatic girl. She kept looking back at Bryac and grinning, and I felt like this show was both cute, and sickening. I'm not heartless, maybe not a romance fan, but not heartless, so I decided to keep my comments to myself.  
  
....For now at least.  
  
"Here it is!" She sang, sweeping her hands over the land in front of us regally, "The boat awaits for you just yonder."  
  
My eyes widened at the sight of it. A whole village that was marked with ash and blood stood strong where the girl had gestured. The girl acted like it was nothing, and skipped down the streets to the boat. Trails of blood decorated the road and walls, and the houses were all falling down or burnt to the ground. Horses bones were littered where a stable used to be, and the water was a murky crimson. There was a chill in the air as we walked to it, and Ryou looked especially amazed at the sight. He was about to make a comment, when something caught all of our eyes.  
  
There, arising from all this death and chaos that was once called a village, was a huge wooden boat. White sails flying in the breeze as the vessel gently bobbed up and down in the water. It was a beautiful thing. The wood shone in the sun like it was polished, and the crows nest looked like it could reach into the clouds. It was like a pirate boat. The kind you read about in books that always look like so much fun to take a trip on. Sea breezes played with my hair as we got closer to the boat, and Darren looked like Christmas had come early.  
  
"This is amazing!" He said in awe, "It's more then I dreamed of!"  
  
Mouri giggled and started to climb up the ladder to the top deck, "I'm glad you like it, we've spent all morning cleaning it up for you. There should be food stowed away for you, and lanterns, and there is nothing else we can do to help you."  
  
"Thank you, Mouri." Bryac said.  
  
"You're very welcome, Soh Bryac," She said, "Perhaps I can show you around the boat before you leave?"  
  
"Of course you can!" Darren spoke up before Bryac could decline, "We'll be setting up and choosing jobs while you help Yugi, Ryou, Caitlin, Yoko and Thina set up the back rooms-"  
  
"What!?" I exclaimed, "But I want to drive the boat!"  
  
"No way!" Gale laughed, "You're not strong enough, we need a guy to do it. Someone strong like Darren or Bryac...or me." He preened.  
  
"I'm strong!" I shouted, "I want to drive the boat!"  
  
"I'll be driving." Bryac said, "I'm the only one who knows the seas better then the others."  
  
"B-But-"  
  
"Gale, you can man the crow nest. Darren will keep an eye on navigation." Bryac said, climbing up the ladder and pulling himself onto the deck of the boat.  
  
I climbed after him, determined not to give up this easily, "If I'm not driving the boat, what do I do?"  
  
Bryac cast a quick side glance at me, "I already told you, you are to help Mouri, Yoko, Thina, and your tachi set up in the back rooms. Then you are to stay there, where it is safe."  
  
I growled at him, but went into the back room anyway, where I could think in peace and cool down before I did anything stupid. When I got in there, though, there was already someone waiting for me. Ryou was sitting on the ground, staring at the dagger placed right in front of him. He let out a long sigh, and started to pick up the dagger with a shaky hand.  
  
"Ryou?" I said quietly.  
  
He jumped a little when I made myself known, but half-smiled anyway. "Hai."  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked, coming in and sitting across the room from him.  
  
"I'm-...thinking." He told me hesitantly.  
  
"'Bout what?" I said, pressing on though I knew exactly what he was thinking about.  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, trying to laugh at his own comment, but failing due to his own mood.  
  
"...Well...no....ok, yes." I said, looking absentmindedly around the room for a different conversation starter then what I had on my mind. Giving up, I bit my lip, and started to speak again. "Ryou, are you going to be alright? I know how you are about...these things."  
  
Ryou leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling, "I'll be fine."  
  
"Yes, so you say, but I mean truthfully here. I heard Thina talking to Darren and Bryac the other day about what Yukio has been doing, and it's downright scary, Ryou. They were talking about how he's murdering whole villages, like this one, because he's looking for us. There is something else that he's looking for too, but his main priority is us. He knows we're here."  
  
"But I could do other things to help besides fight!" Ryou said, almost starting to argue with me.  
  
"I know you could, but couldn't you make the best of this? Ryou, instead of thinking about killing people, think about saving all the people the person you just killed would have slaughtered. It'll make you feel better, and it's true. I want to help, but I have nothing to offer yet, and Bryac isn't going to let me learn something useful anytime soon."  
  
"I...I know." Ryou said, looking harder at the dagger, "That girl. It's horrible. That girl, Mouri, she saw her whole village burn to the ground and her family members and friends die. Living here has desensitized her to blood and death. It's sad."  
  
"See," I said in an effort to be cheery, "That's what I mean. You need to think more about how you're saving them, more then how your killing them."  
  
He nodded and smiled a tiny bit, "Hai, I see. I'll use this to help, I can make a difference in a new way. Gomen, Caitlin, thank you for helping me."  
  
I grinned, "Anytime! Can't have the best cheerleader (save Tea) be the one in the slump, now can I?"  
  
He laughed, "I guess. You're quite an enigma."  
  
I scratched the back of my neck and smiled, "Yea, I guess I am. I may be a hot head sometimes, but I do have some inspirational speeches down there somewhere."  
  
There was a sudden jerk to the right on the boat and I almost toppled over on top of Ryou, which wouldn't be good. There were a few cries from outside, and Yugi bust through the door at that moment, grinning.  
  
"Glad I could find you guys!" He said cheerfully, "We just set sail, and Bryac's saying that we'll be back on dry, INHABITED land in no less then a few hours."  
  
He thought this would be good news, but I instantly let out a groan and let my head hit the wall behind me. "A few hours! I'll go crazy cooped up in a room for more then an hour!"  
  
"Well it will be worth it once we're there." Yugi said, also sitting into our newly forming circle, "Darren has been telling me about cities and temples made of amazing things! I can't wait to start looking around without the threat of there being monsters after us all the time."  
  
"Oh there will still be monsters. Just not as many of them...during the day at least."  
  
Thina and Yoko had entered the room. I looked longingly out the small window that was in our chosen prison. Everything was so pretty out there, and I was stuck in here. The sky was blue, the water was sparkling, the clouds were puffy, and our room smelled like old fish.  
  
"So we HAVE to stay in here the entire time?" I asked them, hoping for a better answer then I guessed it would be.  
  
Thina nodded, "It is for safety. You need to stay inside, lest Yukio finds out you are aboard."  
  
"He's going to find out anyway..." I grumbled, "Being inside stinks..."  
  
"At least we have each other!" Yoko chirped as usual, "We can play games, and sing songs, and tell secrets to each other so we can get to know one another better! We're all in this together, and together we will fall."  
  
"Don't you mean 'together we stand, divided we fall'?" Yugi said questionably.  
  
"...No..." Yoko said.  
  
I gave a sigh and a grimace at the idea of 'singing songs' with Yoko. No one else seemed keen to the idea, either, so I had some hope yet that we wouldn't sing. I have had almost enough of singing in my life. I looked again out the window at the perfect day and groaned.  
  
This was going to be a long 'few hours'.  
  
~~ Somewhere in the Dream Realm ~~  
  
Yukio paced by in his tent. Waiting for the results from his men and the whereabouts to the four items he wanted most. Some would ask why he wasn't going after one at a time. None of them understood the true power of both together. There was always a chance that it he captured the Destined Three before the other, they would get away before he could sacrifice them. With these thoughts weighing on his mind, he almost didn't notice the blue glow coming from his pocket.  
  
"Sire?"  
  
Yukio recognized the voice immediately, and pulled the communication mirror from his pocket. He could see the face of his captain on the human side of the realm. He was masked in the skin of another human that Yukio did not recognize. And what was more, he was masked in the skin of a female human. Yukio kept the satisfied smirk to himself as he imagined the humiliation upon realizing that he had obtained a female memory instead of a male.  
  
"Have you done away with them?" He asked impatiently, "I have been awaiting your report for almost two days Pohnau!"  
  
"I apologize for the inconvenience, sire, but days go past much slower here then they did in our home realm." He answered, flicking the brown bangs from his eyes.  
  
"Answer the question!" Yukio snapped back, "Have you done away with the souls inhabiting the bodies of the destined?"  
  
A hesitated pause as Pohnau bit his lip, "We have not, sire."  
  
"And why not!?" Yukio bellowed, "They are petty humans, Pohnau!"  
  
"I know sire!" He said back, "Please forgive us, they were able to escape before I could kill them!"  
  
"Why dare you report without good news!?"  
  
"They have grown suspicious, sire, the souls in the destined own bodies. We are covering up our search of the gem with heavy rain but they still try to figure out what we are doing!"  
  
"Tell me, Pohnau, what HAVE you accomplished since your run in with the human kind? Have you and your men been doing NOTHING the entire time that is recognizable!?"  
  
"Master!" He said back to me, "We have identified the bodies for sure, this time. I asked them purposely and they gave us the information we needed. That is a huge step in the right direction for us!"  
  
"But what's the use of knowing if you can't do anything about it!" Yukio yelled to him, not caring about the looks he was earning from the men outside, "If the bodies aren't removed from the picture the destined three can still find their way back into the physical realm! We can not have that happening!"  
  
"Do not worry." Pohnau assured him, "We have bugged one of the 'friends' of there's when we took him captive. His memories proved useful enough to earn the appearance of everyone he has ever met in life. With the bug we were able to attach in his hand, we can listen into his thought as he lives, and catch clue to where the bodies are."  
  
"Good." Yukio said, calming a small bit. "Good, Pohnau. But do not communicate with me again, unless you have news of the death of those three."  
  
"Yes master."  
  
The connection dimmed, and Yukio set the mirror back inside of his pocket.  
  
[3] 'It won't be long now.' Yukio grinned to himself, 'Once I have their bodies destroyed there isn't anything they can do to save themselves.'  
  
Yukio walked out into the sunlight and two of his men ran to him.  
  
"Master Yukio!" The first shouted, "We have found the location of the Destined Three and their helpers, The Alliance."  
  
"They are attempting to sail across the Opanian Sea, Master. They have been sailing for almost two hours now, and will be on land in only about another thirty minutes."  
  
Yukio smirked, "Excellent. Get Junli to send them his strongest storm he can, and tell him he will be paid when the job is done."  
  
They both nodded, "Yes, master."  
  
'The doors are closing shut, Bryac. Your chances for both victory and succession are disappearing, and your efforts like a grain of sand in a desert. You will not arise above me, I cannot allow that to happen.'  
  
*-=-* Ryou -*-=-*  
  
I had been feeling much better about everything now. I had been thinking about it ever since I took the dagger from the monster, but something inside me clicked when I saw the girl talking so lightly about death, and seeing the completely demolished village. The dagger still weighed on my 'reluctant to' list, but not at all as heavily as it had before.  
  
Thina had been able to persuade Bryac to let us go out onto the deck for some fresh air. I had to admit, it had been half enjoyable to only talk with everyone (even though Yoko was big on getting us to sing songs...) but it was even better to get to stretch my legs on the deck.  
  
"This is so cool!" Caitlin was telling us for the hundredth time, "I love being out on the water! Water is so cool! This whole thing is so cool!"  
  
"The air smells so clean here." Yugi said with a smile, "Cleaner then being out on the sea at home!"  
  
"Alright, that's enough speculating. Everyone get back into your room." Darren said playfully, "You're being annoying."  
  
I had to squint as a hard gust of wind blew against me and played with my hair. This was one of those moments I wished I didn't have long hair. Suddenly, I noticed something in the sky. Where those, storm clouds? On a perfect day like this? Darren had the same surprise on his face as he noticed the same thing.  
  
"What the-?"  
  
Darren stared out on the horizon with disbelief, and then anger. He cursed under his breath many times, before turning to Thina.  
  
"Were you in on this?" He growled, "What's the point of having someone to see what bad points are going to happen if you never announce them."  
  
Thina's expression remained emotionless as Bryac stared wide-eyed at the approaching storm clouds. He started mumbling things to himself, and from what I could gather, he was thinking about what to do.  
  
"We're going to have to change our course!" Darren shouted to the men, "We have to get to land before we get caught up in this storm!"  
  
Bryac held up a hand in front of Darren, eyes still on the jumble of darkness, "No. It's too late for that; we're too far away from shore. I have a feeling this is Yukio's plan."  
  
"And how the hell do you know it's him?" Darren demanded, "Listen, Bryac, we'll all get killed if we venture any further."  
  
"We can't go back!" Bryac told him firmly, "We're too far away from land to get there in time, anyway, we're just going to have to fight it."  
  
"Are you nuts!" Gale exclaimed. "This storm is WAY too strong! It will tear the boat in two, Bryac!"  
  
Yugi looked to me hesitantly as a few drops of rain fell on us. The sheet of rain was coming up fast, and everyone unconsciously took a step back as lighting filled the darkened sky. Bryac turned to Thina and Yoko, completely ignoring us standing there, and started to bark orders.  
  
"Yoko, I need you to get up in the crow's nest, create the strongest shielding spell you can, and apply it to the sail. Got it?"  
  
"I'm on it Bryac!" Yoko said, starting immediately in on her chosen job.  
  
"Thina." Bryac said, "Take the Destined Three below deck and guard them with your immortal life."  
  
"Yes, Bryac."  
  
Caitlin looked at the two like they were crazy, "Hey wait! I want to stay up here and help!"  
  
"It's too dangerous, I can't risk it. I think you'd better get below deck now."  
  
Caitlin crossed her arms and glared at him, "I can think for myself thank you."  
  
"Storm's coming up fast!" Gale shouted from the crow's nest where Yoko had only just climbed up to the top, "It's going to hit hard!"  
  
"Come on Caitlin." Thina said, grabbing her arm and taking her away from where all the men were running around trying to do the best they could to protect the boat.  
  
"I don't understand him!" Caitlin said in protest, "I can do whatever he can, and I could be a help if he'd just let me! Heck, I could do better then any of those men out there! Yoko gets to help, why can't I?"  
  
"It's more then that." Thina explained, lighting an oil lamp and leading us down the stairs. "Yoko is experienced in the art of potion making and defensive magic. She would be able to protect herself if something happened."  
  
"Oh, and I couldn't?" Caitlin said, almost tripping down an exceptionally steep step, but regaining herself quickly.  
  
"Under the waters of the Opanian sea, there is a sort of black force that drags you down. If you let the darkness take you, then there is no hope in coming back. You could not know how to conquer the force, and Yoko does. Bryac is only looking out for your protection."  
  
Although it made perfect sense, Caitlin continued to mutter angrily as Thina took us even lower into the very bottom of the boat.  
  
It smelled down there, like old milk and sawdust, and if Thina had not taken the oil lamp with her, we would have been in complete blackness. Yugi took a seat on a bag of potatoes and tried to make do best he could. I just sat on the ground, and I even felt a little sea sick from all the rocking. [1]  
  
"Are you...alright Ryou?" Yugi said, noticing my quiet moaning, "You look a little...green."  
  
"Hai, Yugi, I'm fine." I lied, laying my head back on a cart to try and ease the rocking.  
  
Thina hung the oil lamp on a hanger on the ceiling and sat on a barrel. "It might be a while, but you needn't worry."  
  
Caitlin started to pace around the small room, and I wondered how she could stand walking around with this rocking.  
  
= Chibi Moment =  
  
There was a hard jerk to the left, and everyone fell over onto the ground on their faces but Thina, who was still sitting completely poised on the barrel. My leg twitched a little as I felt a body on top of me.  
  
"Yugi, please get off me."  
  
= End Chibi Moment =  
  
There was another jerk to the side and the oil lamp started to swing violently on it's hanger. The light flickered a little as the rocking continued, gradually getting worse and worse. I cupped a hand over my mouth to keep me from loosing my lunch, and everyone backed away from me noticing my case.  
  
"What's going on up there?" Yugi said softly, "I thought Yoko had put on some spell that was supposed to help."  
  
"The shielding spell." Thina said with a nod, "It protects against strong blows."  
  
"Do you think something went wrong?" I asked, tough deciding quickly after that I should keep my mouth shut.  
  
"That's it." Caitlin said, raising to her feet and going to the stairs, "I'm going to find out what's wrong, and how I can help."  
  
"Wait! Caitlin!" Yugi shouted, getting up but falling back down when the boat almost toppled over. He shut his eyes and gripped the potatoes around him tightly, not trying to get up again.  
  
=* Caitlin *=  
  
I climbed up the stairs to the deck, determined to help Bryac out with his and find out what was going on. The boat kept rocking side to side and making me hit the walls around the stairs, but I did end up making it in the end.  
  
Thunder blared as hard rain hit my face. I had to squint through the rain in order to see men running around doing things that would help the boat. Bryac had control of the wheel, and the only light came from the lightning that always came down so dangerously close to the sail.  
  
The sail!  
  
I looked up the crows nest and saw Gale and Yoko still struggling with the sail, trying to get it to stay still in the wind. One of the ties was loose! Suddenly, a wave was thrown against the boat and I was flung to the ground, soaked to the bone. Icy cold salt water stung my eyes, but I knew what I had to do.  
  
Clenching my teeth I sprinted to the ladder up to the crows nest. I slipped on the deck a few times when the boat rocked, but I just knew that I HAD to help Yoko and Gale with the sail! I gripped the ladder and started to climb. I was up about twenty rungs when-  
  
WHAM!  
  
Anther large wave hit the boat and I was almost hurled off the ladder onto the deck, but my hands held strong on the bars as my legs dangled over twenty feet in the air. I couldn't let myself go yet. I just had to keep going! I pulled myself up and continued to climb. Thirty feet, forty feet, fifty feet into the air. I was shaking because of how cold I felt, and how tiring it was to climb up, but I never let go. I heard Yoko shout in surprise as I neared the crows nest, and felt Gale pull me up quickly.  
  
"Caitlin!" He exclaimed, "Why-"  
  
"Gale!" Yoko screamed, holding the sail back by herself. "HELP!"  
  
I told him, "Why isn't the sail working!?"  
  
Another blast of water whipped at our faces as the sail blew in the wind. Gale grabbed it hold of it with Yoko just before it flew away. Yoko looked relieved that he could help her, but she still couldn't hold the sail back completely enough for him. Gale grunted while he tried to tie it to the mast. [2] I followed my instincts and grabbed the sail other end of the sail with Yoko, only then realizing how hard it was to hold that thing back.  
  
"Just a little more-" He said, pulling with all his might on the knot, "I've got it!"  
  
"HOLD ON FOR YOUR LIFE!" Someone yelled from below.  
  
Yoko, Gale, and I all turned and looked behind us in unison. Coming straight for the boat, was the biggest wave I had ever seen in my life. It was big enough to swallow the boat, and defiantly big enough to hit us much harder then the previous waves had. It made a low rumbling noise as it came close to us, and there wasn't anything we could do but stare.  
  
"Oh...god." Gale murmured.  
  
"We're gonna die." I whimpered, "We're all gonna die."  
  
"Hold on to whatever you can." Yoko said, quietly, "Just hold your breath, and keep hold of whatever you can."  
  
I gripped the side of the crow's nest with all my might and closed my eyes. I could only hear the water coming to us...and then... I heard something else.  
  
'Let me into your mind...' It whispered, 'Let me in girl...'  
  
My eyes flew open in shock and I took a sharp intake of breath before being submerged in icy salt water. I hadn't held the crows nest hard enough, and was tossed and turned underneath the water. In spite of all my efforts to swim, I just could not surface for air, and felt myself being dragged deeper and deeper under water.  
  
My head and shoulder hit something hard and wooden and I although I couldn't open my eyes, I knew I had landed on the deck. The water let me go, but I didn't have much energy left in me. I could only cough all the water I could out of my mouth while I laid still on the deck, gasping for air. I didn't have much time to compose myself, though, because I was hit again with a hard wave that threw me painfully against the side of the boat, and then,  
  
Into the sea itself.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Retaw- ^__^ Another chapter, successfully posted on FF.N that you just finished reading. The next chapter will be....interesting. *evil shifty eyes* Not only do the yami's have a run in with: The Seto Kaiba, but they also have a visitor when they get home.  
  
[1] I don't know why, but Ryou seems like someone that would get sea sick to me. ^^  
  
[2] I am not sure how tying a sail works. And to make things worse, this boat is going to be a bit different then boats we usually use, so just go with me. ^^; I don't know much about boats, but I tried.  
  
[3] Actually, ^^; It will be long. I'm only about four tenths done with the story!  
  
Cast- O.O  
  
Retaw- ^^; This is sorta like a whole season type deal. *gets idea* I KNOW! I'll write the person who created Yu-Gi-Oh, and ask him politely if I can get this on the air! OMG THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME!  
  
Caitlin- *rolls eyes* And farfetched.  
  
Retaw- *glares* Hey, that would mean you'd be on TV.  
  
Caitlin- Mikoo? *thinks about it* O____O You're right...wow... *_*  
  
Retaw- *_*  
  
YGO people- *hide*  
  
Read, Review, and TELL YOUR FRIENDS! (lol) 


	16. The Beans, have officially been Spilled

Author- HELLO ALL YOU HAPPY PEOPLES ONCE AGAIN! It has been another week, and therefore, another adventure of The Destined Three is yet to be unfolded.  
  
Cami- ;_;  
  
Author- *to Yugi* What's with him?  
  
Yugi- -.- He's upset because he just got the news that this story isn't even halfway done.  
  
Author- *blink* *blink* oooh...  
  
Cami- *sob* I can't stand looking like a girl any longer! I'm putting this under: cruel and unusual punishment!  
  
Author- You do that. *evil grin* I've decided that there's going to be three parts of the story. I can't tell you the titles of those parts, cause it might give away surprises in the story! ^__^ But I'll tell you when part one is done with!  
  
Caitlin- *sinks into chair* Great, and tell me, about how long till part one is done with?  
  
Author- *thinks* Uhhh, I dunno the exact number yet. ^^; But it's going to be...about three or four chapters? Maybe more...?  
  
All- *anime fall*  
  
Bakura- THIS STORY IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER TO FINISH!  
  
Author- *glare* Well SO-RRY! Maybe I should split this into two fics...people will be intimidated when they see fifty something chapters...  
  
All- O.O FIFTY!!?  
  
Author- What you people aren't getting, is that is really TWO stories in one. Let's see, this is the 16th chapter, so that means each story is only eight chapters long. That's not much. And near the end, the story is going to split into three, then people will get REALLY intimidated.  
  
Cami- *sob*  
  
Author- *sigh* I'm going to ponder this while you go ahead and read this next adventure of Yami's...and I thank the reviewers! ^__^  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
The Happy Reviewer- Thanks again for your review! *sniffle* It's great to have fans. I hope I didn't take too long to review...and if I did, I didn't mean to. I'm so bad a schedules!  
  
DDOR- Fanx 4 reviewin! Good thing you can see the pictures in your head and such, because, I was afraid I was using too much detail. ^^; I'm having more trouble with action then I thought I would, but not a biggie.  
  
Livi- I read your fic on Bakura and the fast-food restaurant, and it's great! Seems just like something Bakura would do, and like I said in the review... *gets evil 'update' eyes* you must update it. ^_^ YAY! Someone else thinks riding on a boat in a storm would be fun! (and only slightly terrifying) People think I'm crazing for finding amusement in those sorts of situations.  
  
AND THANKIES TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN READING, although some haven't reviewed. *glare at people* ...you evil non-reviewing peoples...I don't mind IF YOU HATE IT! I DON'T MIND IF YOU DON'T HAVE A USER OR ANYTHING! JUST REVIEW PLZ!!  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
And to all, don't get too mad at the guys for being he-man-woman-haters, it's just their role in life is not to be used to kick-butt girls. ^__^ Not to say that Caitlin is a kick-butt girl, but she tries.  
  
~*^~*^~^*~^*~^*~  
  
"Wow...well...this sure puts a whole new perspective on things." Tea said after hearing Yami explain everything to her. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING!  
  
We were currently sitting at a lunch table, in the lunch room, at lunch time, eating lunch. I had been able to survive today's food, and barely today's school. We had come into our classroom very late, and thankfully our teacher let us get in without terdy slips or whatever they are. Yami was unbearably amazed and confused when he saw Tristen sitting across the room from him, looking nothing less then alive and unharmed...though a little...sleepy.  
  
We went through the classes the best we could, and to my great astonishment, no one laughed at me when I came in wearing a skirt. To be frank, I think they were confused as to who I was, or what gender I was. But as long as I wasn't laughed at, I was happy. Which leads us back to lunch. When the lunch bell rang, Yami got the seat in the very back and told Tea, Joey, and Tristen the entire story. I dunno why he did that. They didn't need to know, and it's not like he asked Bakura or me how we felt about having our story told to them like this. Guess he felt guilty or something. That still doesn't excuse his rudeness, so I'm making a mental note to lecture him on it later. Anyway, he told them the entire story and that's exactly where we are now. It had taken us about a half an hour, maybe more, and boy I never realized how fast the Pharaoh can talk!  
  
"You could have told us sooner." Tea told us, "We would have been happy to help you out with what you needed."  
  
"You never asked." Yami bluntly, "I didn't think it was on your mind."  
  
"Of course it was on my mind." Tea said with slight annoyance, "Two of my best friends leave to go to the shadow realm, come to school the next day looking and acting fine...I had no idea what to think!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Tea, I had no idea you felt that way." Yami said.  
  
"Yea, well, I did, but apology excepted." She said with a nod.  
  
"Good." Said Yami, "I think that we could use all the help from our friends that we can get these days."  
  
"So what's next?" Joey asked, "Do we just...wait or something?"  
  
"That's all we can do." Yami answered, "I am very worried about the imposters that tried to play you and Tea, but if we're careful, I'm hoping they will be no threat to us."  
  
"I still don't get why they told you they had me hostage or whatever." Tristen said, "I was in my bed when I woke up this morning, no scares or nothing."  
  
"You're sure nothing unusual happened?" Yami pressed on, "Nothing out of the ordinary?"  
  
"Well...I had this really weird dream, if that counts."  
  
"What about?"  
  
"I...I can't remember." Tristen said, "Dammit! It might have helped out too!"  
  
"It's alright, Tristen." Yami said, having an obvious disappointment come over his face.  
  
"Yea. We were wrong to put such pressure on you." I added, seriously trying to be nice, "We shouldn't expect you to remember much that happened any later then ten minutes ago."  
  
Yami shoved me hard in the ribs, but I saw Bakura smirk briefly at the comment. I didn't mean to be rude, I'm just not good at coming up with comforting words...that and comebacks. First time I actually get to speak in the entire conversation and I get ribbed for it, I SWEAR I was trying to be nice. To show my disgruntlement, I glare at Yami. He ignores me, as usual. Why does he always ignore me? I do not like to be ignored. I would glare, but that would put me in the middle of a never ending circle and I don't do well in circles. I don't do well in round things at all, like when Caitlin took me on that roller coaster....I didn't like that roller coaster...  
  
Suddenly, Tristen hushes us and points at the table from right to the side of us. There's only one guy at the table, with a laptop perched on his...lap. He doesn't seem to mind being alone, and the light from the window above him shines down on the guy like some sort of spotlight. I guess Joey had shushed us because they guy looked up at us and had this whole, suspicious look on his face. He looked sort of familiar...but I couldn't place where I knew him from...  
  
The guy gives us a last look before turning back to his computer, and everyone leans into the table.  
  
"We'll have to talk about this later." Yami tells them, "Pretend that nothing is going on for the time being, and we can discuss what to do when the need comes up."  
  
Everyone nodded, and most of us spent the rest of lunchtime not saying anything. Only Joey and Tristen spoke, and it wasn't ever anything more then a, 'Are you going to eat that?' When the time was right, everyone split up and went to their assigned classes for the day. Luckily, I had Tea and Bakura coming to math with me.  
  
"Hey, Bakura?" Tea has said on our way.  
  
He grunted, a sign that he was listening.  
  
"You aren't going to...do anything...bad, while you're in Ryou's body, are you?"  
  
He had a strange expression come over his face as he looked at her and said, "The all depends, what's your definition of, 'bad'?"  
  
"Well, you know. Like trap us into cards or turn teachers into dolls or send people to the shadow realm."  
  
I could tell Bakura was contemplating weather or not to say yes so she would leave him alone, or just tell her the truth about the whole thing. To my amazement, Bakura sighed.  
  
"I don't have any power left in my ring, so even if I tried, I couldn't do those things." He said, then smirking and looking at her, "But that doesn't leave me completely helpless if you decide to get on my nerves. I know other ways to get back at people."  
  
Tea smiled a tiny bit, glad Bakura was powerless, but still knowing that he could cause some major damage if he wanted to. I grinned at the both of them as we went into the classroom and sat down by the window. I was about to ask Tea how you did math again, when the teacher started to talk, and I was stuck.  
  
...crackers...foiled again.  
  
__~__~__ LATER THAT DAY __~__~__  
  
I hate school. Have I made that perfectly clear? Good. Cause I do.  
  
Homework stinks. Teachers stink. Stupid bully people stink. The food stinks. It's just a waste of my life.  
  
And so know, I was coming back from school with a fifty two-zillion ton backpack filled with homework and other assorted torture devices. I dropped them onto the bed, and was about to think of some way to get out of doing it when I heard the door bell ring.  
  
YES! LITERALY SAVED BY THE BELL!  
  
I immediately perked up and bounded out the door to find out who our visitor was. I didn't really care who it was, as long as it kept me from doing my homework. I didn't even know how to start it, I mean, I still can't read more then a few words. Anywho, opening the door....stopping in mid open and staring at the weirdo standing there.  
  
I cross my arms across my chest and lean again the door frame, "Who are you?"  
  
The purple eyed blond haired boy just blinks at me curiously, and says, "I could ask you the same."  
  
"Yeah you could, but I asked first." I inform him.  
  
Another blink, and he stares at me strangely. "My name is Malik. I'm looking for someone that goes by the name, 'Bakura'. But he didn't mention anything about...you, maybe I got the house number wrong."  
  
"No, Malik, I'm here."  
  
We both look and, looky there! It's Bakura! He gestures to Malik to follow him, and Malik only nods to me and does just that. Although, I don't feel that comfortable about letting this, Malik guy into the house. ESPECIALLY if he's a friend of Bakura's. But unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice in the matter. But just to be safe, I follow them.  
  
Malik looks behind him for a second and notices me following them. "You didn't tell me there were other people staying in the house, Bakura."  
  
Bakura sorta grunts, and then he too eyes me, "I didn't think that information was of any importance. This is his hikari's home."  
  
"So he is a Yami, then?"  
  
"He was, like myself and the Pharaoh. But we ran into a few complications, and we are now reduced to being mortal."  
  
Malik stopped in half shock, "Mortal?"  
  
"Do not tell me you didn't sense that my aibou's soul is gone."  
  
"I noticed something different, but I had no idea! How could this happen?"  
  
"It is a story that I have no intention of explaining right now. It is of no use to you, and it's best we just get along with our meeting before the Pharaoh comes and finds you here."  
  
"You mean, Yugi's Yami has also become mortal, and resides in this home?"  
  
"That's correct Malik." Bakura answered, opening the door to his room and letting Malik come inside.  
  
Malik smirked slightly when he entered the room and turned to Bakura, "Not my choice of colors, but it goes perfectly with your hair."  
  
Bakura glared and Malik, and pulled out a drawer from the dresser. He rummaged through it for a while, before gingerly pulling out the marble mirror we had found before in the car crash. Malik looked at it curiously for a while, and when Bakura handed it to him, turned it over and ran his finger across the back.  
  
"So this is it..." He mumbled, mostly to himself, "I have to admit, it wasn't what I was expecting when you told me over the phone."  
  
Bakura nodded, "It doesn't look or seem like much, but I sense a sort of foreign magic in it."  
  
Malik grunted in agreement, and his pocket began to glow. That was when I noticed the long rod poking just a little out of his jean pocket.  
  
"Hey!" I said, "You've got a millenium item too!"  
  
Malik looked up, an expression on his face like he just remembered I was standing there. He instinctively reached for his treasure and pulled it out. I grinned, and showed him my own amulet.  
  
"See?" I told him, "I've got one too."  
  
Malik cocked his head to one side, and looked closely at the beetle, "There are only supposed to be seven millenium items, how can it be that you have one?"  
  
I shrugged innocently, "Mine is...special."  
  
He didn't believe me; "Isis never spoke of anything like what you have, I don't understand it!"  
  
"It's not REALLY a millenium item." I told him, "Sort of...an item wannabe. It's not really official."  
  
"But it was created in Egypt?" He asked, "And your soul was sealed inside?"  
  
"Well...yea. But that second one was an accident. I was a scribe and I wasn't really supposed to be in here, it just...happened."  
  
Again, he gave me a look that showed he didn't fully believe what I was saying, and Bakura wrapped the mirror up with a spare sock. He handed it to Malik.  
  
"Do you think you could find something out about the item?" He asked.  
  
"I'll do my best." Malik said, "Maybe my sister can help me. She knows more then I do."  
  
"Good." Said Bakura, "But bring it back as soon as possible."  
  
"I will." Malik said, with an arch in his brow, "And I will be waiting for an explanation in return.  
  
"We'll worry about that later." Bakura told him, glancing out the window, "For now, I think you had better leave before the storm gets worse."  
  
"I'll be fine." Malik assured him, "I've driven in worse conditions then this."  
  
He was about to leave, like Bakura hinted, when who else then Yami poked his head into the room! Oh man, the look on his face! I wish I could freeze that moment and play it over and over in my head forever. If I wasn't trying to be so serious in front of these serious people, I would have doubled over in laughter! The Pharaoh froze, and only looked at Malik. Then, the lavender eyed boy made the first move.  
  
"Yami no Yugi." He said, with a nod of his head.  
  
Yami's eyes narrowed as he finally stepped into the room. "Malik."  
  
A long moment of silence.  
  
"I didn't think I'd be seeing you any time soon." Malik said.  
  
"I was hoping as much."  
  
Another moment of silence.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll be going now." Malik said, a last uncomfortable glance resting on Yami before he left.  
  
Everyone just stood there as we heard the door slam shut, and the sound of a motorcycle engine fading away. Then, Yami glared hard at Bakura.  
  
"What was he doing here?" Yami hissed.  
  
Bakura sneered, "He's an old friend that I thought could help me with the mirror puzzle."  
  
"That may be so, but you could AT LEAST have warned me so I could NOT run into him!"  
  
Bakura kept his face straight and sat down in his computer chair, crossing his legs and arms and leaning back.  
  
"I'll remember that next time." He said, coolly.  
  
"There won't be a next time!" Yami snapped, "He isn't coming back and that's final!"  
  
Bakura looked up, "That isn't your decision, Pharaoh. For you see, this isn't Egypt. Therefore, you have no rule or power over me anymore."  
  
Yami was struck by the comment, and only stood there with his fists clenched. Then, he gave up staring and stormed back into his own room. Bakura had his eyes closed at the end of the comment, but smirked as we heard the second door of the night slam.  
  
I had to smile too, just knowing that Yami got his fair and needed comeback that knocked him far enough down the totem pole to be livable. I decided to leave Bakura alone, and retreated back into my room.  
  
I was about to relax and take a nap in the nifty, cushy, fluffy, comfortable bean-bag chair in Caitlin's old room, when I saw something on the bed that made my good mood fly out the window. I groaned and hit my head against the wall in frustration.  
  
I hate homework.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Cami- *reads* Wow, that was short.  
  
Author- ;_; I don't know what else to do to you Yami's! The chapter was way shorter then I meant it to be!  
  
All Yamis- *nod*  
  
Author- *sigh* Hold on, first of all, why do I call myself author? Not only am I a girl, but I have a name.  
  
All- *shrug*  
  
Author- *snaps fingers*  
  
Retaw- ^_^ Much better.  
  
Retaw- And second of all, I AM SO SORRY ALL YOU HAPPY PEOPLES! I DIDN'T MEAN TO POST ON A MONDAY! Gomen, but my dad was working on the computer almost ALL DAY so I couldn't get on! I'm sorry! I'll do better next time I promise! *bows multiple times* Gomen! And domo arigoto for not being too angry!  
  
I'll BE FASTER THE NEXT TIME! I PROMISE!  
  
!~ Retaw ~!  
  
R&R! 


	17. Land Ho!

Retaw- Hi all again! Glad to see everyone's back for another chapter of Dreams Do Come True! YAY!  
  
All- *grumble*  
  
Retaw- Anywho, so far, I have more reviews then chapters! Which is very good! ^___^ And also so far, no one has flamed me or given me criticism. I am HAPPY! *bounces up and down*  
  
Retaw- Anyway, the song that gave me inspiration for this part of the story was 'One for Sorrow' by 'Steps'. ^^ That's actually the theme song for my tale, if it ever becomes a manga or anime!  
  
Pretty Much All- *snort*  
  
Retaw- *glare* Hey! It could happen! This story really gets into great depth and detail eventually, and it could be a very interesting series! See, it really-  
  
Caitlin- Hey, could you please get on with the story here? I mean, hello! Still drowning!  
  
Retaw- Oh yeah, getting to that now.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Livi- Thanks for the review again! ^_^ I'm glad the Yami's confusion of Cami came across smoothly, and not like cheese whiz. ^^; I'll give you one little piece of info, there is a BIG reason why Cami is keeping his past a secret. Hope you update soon! Ja ne!  
  
The Happy Reviewer- ...*sigh*... -_-; I deserved that. But, see? I've updated! YAY! ^^;; Sorry again for the wait, it was all my father's fault! *points accusingly at dad* HIS FAULT I TELL YOU! HIS! AS IN NOT MINE! But, thankies for the long review! I like long reviews, makes me happy! ^___^  
  
KAY! NOW ITS STORY TIME!  
  
-= Bryac =-  
  
I cursed over and over as my hands held the wheel steady. Yukio had gotten us into a position that left the boat and our lives at his own mercy. Lighting almost blinded me as it struck the dark sky, and thunder silenced any screams. I had ordered most of my men to make sure everything was tied down and to do their best to keep the boat from taking in too much water. Damn, what was taking Yoko and Gale so long to get that accursed sail up?  
  
Taking a quick look up at the main sail, I saw Gale trying it tightly and finally managing to get it suspended. Wait, was someone else in there too? Suddenly, Darren gabbed the wheel with me and Cavamick yelled,  
  
"HOLD ON FOR YOUR LIFE!"  
  
I only had a split second to react, but it was just long enough to see the monster wave coming for our boat. It looked almost the size of a Tsunami! If we didn't get the sail completely attached the boat would be smashed! I squeezed the wheel and prayed that Gale could tie the sail before it was too late, and then, I felt the cold water slam onto me like a hammer.  
  
It only lasted a few seconds of holding on, but it was a strong and violent wave that washed some of our supplies away. As soon as the first wave ended, one more came on top of us and almost washed my sword away with us. This one wasn't as strong, but lasted longer then the first. The boat leaned almost completely over to the side, but we survived the blow.  
  
"Is everyone alright!?" I shouted to the men above the thunder. "Has anyone fallen over board!?  
  
"Bryac!" Gale yelled from the crows nest, "Caitlin went overboard!"  
  
"What!?" I exclaimed, instantly seeing red. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE-"  
  
I didn't even wait for an answer, too angry to speak anymore. Oh, she was going to PAY for this one. I let go of the boat wheel and turned to Darren.  
  
"Take the wheel." I shouted over the rain.  
  
Darren was thoroughly bewildered, but I didn't have time to explain. I gripped my sword and ran right to the edge of the boat, taking a running leap into the water below us, hearing in mid-air cries of confusion from a few of my men as they saw me jump off the boat into the sea. I was able to take a last breath before going under water, and when I felt myself submerged in the water, swam.  
  
The water was so dark I could barley see anything in front of me; current so strong I barely had to swim to go down underwater. I looked frantically around for the girl who had gone under. She was down here somewhere. Her life was in my hands now, and I couldn't afford to let her down. I couldn't give up.  
  
Then like an answer to my determination, a flash of gold was seen.  
  
-= Caitlin =-  
  
Of course, I panicked. The water surrounded me so quickly, and the longer I stayed under the farther down I was sinking. For the first time on the trip, if you could even call it that, I felt stupid. Totally and entirely, stupid. Why did I even bother doing this? My lungs went crazy for air inside of me, and I almost knew I was going to die. There was no way I could come back up!  
  
Bubbles skimmed against my skin and I felt something grab onto my leg. It didn't feel like a hand, but it held me tight enough to create the illusion of being one. The hand was strong, even though it felt like nothing. It grabbed me and pulled me down further, and I couldn't struggle. I didn't have much energy or air left. The hand wrapped itself around me; I could feel nothing.  
  
"This can't be happening..." I thought, "It just can't be...please..."  
  
I felt a strange warmth on my chest that lighted the water enough in front of me that I could watch the last group of bubbles issue from my mouth. My body grew limp.  
  
"Is this...really the end?"  
  
I grew desperate for air, and opened my mouth only to be welcomed by a mouth full of salt water. My vision blurred in the swarm of dark bubbles around me.  
  
"...help...me..."  
  
Miraculously, I felt myself being let go of. A large blur was cutting through the darkness of the hand that grabbed me. A sudden decrease of pressure on me, and I started to float up a little.  
  
"...what...?"  
  
The blur took me hard by the front of my shirt and started to swim to the surface. I saw flashes of light through the dank water, and finally, I felt air on my face.  
  
I could barely think, my mind so bogged with water. I could only cough and gulp the first breath of air that I had drank in who knows how long. My eyes were still sealed shut, and I only heard people calling for me.  
  
"Throw them a rope!" One said. "Get them back onto the boat pronto!"  
  
I was lifted into the air and dropped roughly onto the hard wooden floor. Someone pushed me hard on the chest and I coughed up the last remains of water in me. I was helped into sitting position, and my eyes just enough to see dancing swirls of color in front of me.  
  
"Are you ok?" A voice asked me.  
  
My eyes opened a little more, just to be met with the two ice blue ones in front of me. My voice still wasn't working as I hoped it would, and I could only gape at the person kneeling down next to me. It was Bryac, of all people! Bryac took his cloak off and wrapped it tightly around me so my shivering stopped. I tried to relax as I watched in awe.  
  
Bryac, yee who had been thiest pain in thine neck, was being...gentle.  
  
...scary.  
  
I could see the people around me now, no one seemed to be doing any work. Weren't we in the middle of a storm? That's when I realized. It was raining a little less now, though the lighting and thunder kept going. I looked around a little and saw the see-through bubble like thing around us that was keeping out most of the rain and waves.  
  
'That must be the shielding spell that Yoko finally activated...'  
  
"I said, are you alright?" Bryac said again.  
  
I jumped a little from having my thoughts disturbed, but nodded. My body was still shaking uncontrollably from being denied air for so long. "I...yes...I'm fine."  
  
"Good." He said, getting up off the ground and helping me up as well. HE, helped ME.  
  
...maybe I should almost drown more often.  
  
This just can't be real. I must be dreaming. I didn't know Bryac was capable of being nice to me. There has to be a catch. I had to ask him about it.  
  
"You...you saved me?" I stuttered, teetering on my feet.  
  
"Sure, wasn't that hard." Then he looked straight at me and his gaze abruptly narrowed, as if just remembering something, "What the hell did you think you were doing? Coming out here and acting like you were this top sailor. Look where it ended you! You could have gotten killed!"  
  
"Hey!" I said defensively, "I helped get the sail attached! And I DIDN'T get killed if you DO remember!"  
  
"Yeah, thanks to me!"  
  
"I coulda done it without you!"  
  
"I'd like to see you try!"  
  
"I WOULD IF YOU'D GET YOUR STUPID CLOAK OFF ME! ARE YOU *TRYING* TO GET ME KILLED! I DIDN'T DROWN SO YOU'LL CHOAK ME TO DEATH!"  
  
"IF YOU DON'T WANT IT I'LL TAKE IT BACK!"  
  
"FINE! THEN TAKE IT I DON'T WANT IT!"  
  
"YOU KEEP IT I DON'T NEED IT!"  
  
"I DON'T WANT IT!"  
  
"WELL NEITHER DO I!"  
  
"THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF OWNING IT YOU BAKA!"  
  
Everyone was just looking between Bryac and me as we argued. They'd look at me, than at him, than at me, and so on and so forth. He really has some nerve, acting all high and mighty like that. I almost died and he was still a jerk!  
  
"THAT'S_ IT!" I yelled, "I AM GOING BACK DOWN STAIRS WITH YUGI AND RYOU!"  
  
"FINE! YOU DO THAT! NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE ANYWAY!"  
  
"OH IS THAT SO? THEN MAYBE I'LL STAY JUST TO ANNOY YOU ALL! YOU...YOU... SEXISTS!"  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"  
  
"...uh, g-guys?" Cavamick spoke, raising a finger meekly.  
  
"WHAT!?" We both snapped in unison, turning and glaring at the poor boy.  
  
"L-land ho." He mumbled, barely audible.  
  
"What?" Bryac asked, still peeved, but more curious than mad at me.  
  
"We're here." He said a little louder, pointing out on the horizon.  
  
I will remember that moment for the rest of my life. It was the most breath taking thing I had ever seen. Raising just over the dark murky water, was a huge, Ancient looking town and market perched elegantly on top of endless sandy deserts. It looked like something you'd see in an Arabian Night's story! And even to top it off, because of all the rain, the sky had turned a brilliant pinkish orange color. I could only stand and watch in awe as our boat came even closer to the edge of the desert.  
  
It was, simply amazing! Everyone ran to the edge of the boat and looked over as Gale started to shout that we had reached land. I was glad to see Thina, Yugi, and Ryou come up after hearing all the noise. Yugi and Ryou's expressions matched mine, even though Thina looked like she was still in la- la land.  
  
"Wow!" Yugi said, leaning as far over the boat as he could get without falling.  
  
"My god!" Ryou breathed, "It's like nothing I've ever seen before!"  
  
"I can't wait to explore." I told them, a little quieter so Bryac wouldn't overhear.  
  
"Oh no you don't."  
  
Urg. What is with him! Does he have super hearing powers or something!? I turned around and BOOM! There he was! Like some demented sort of genie!  
  
"And why not?" I asked him; not bothering to hide my still angry feeling's toward him.  
  
"You'll get lost, and someone will just be able to pick you up and take you away." Apparently, he didn't seem to see the need to hide his feelings either.  
  
"Hell if they can pick me up." I told him, "I bite, scratch, kick and have a nasty punch if you make me feel defensive."  
  
"I have to keep an eye on you. Yukio's men will be everywhere and you have nothing to protect yourself with! What happens when someone pulls out a sword?"  
  
I shrugged, "I dunno. Run?"  
  
He grumbled at my answer and glared at me, "You are staying with me. ALL of you."  
  
Yugi and Ryou didn't seem to be as offended by this as I was. That annoyed me even more. Don't ask me why, it just did. Bryac stayed right behind us the entire time we were pulling into the docks, and I couldn't help feeling like my personal space was being violated.  
  
"Bryac?" Darren said suddenly from behind us. "Everyone's ready to get back onto land."  
  
"We're coming." Bryac told him, "Go ahead."  
  
Darren nodded and left us standing there. Now that we were closer to the village like thing, I could see that it was packed! There were people everywhere, and they were all bumping into each other! I couldn't wait to look around, and Mr. Protective won't even find out I'm gone! What Bryac doesn't know can't hurt him, can it?  
  
I continued to plot my escape when Bryac held my shoulder and cleared his throat.  
  
"I know what you're thinking." He informed me. "And I would advise you to not even think about it."  
  
I blinked, and turned around to look at him. "How the heck do you know what I'm thinking about?!"  
  
He smiled. No wait, it was more of an arrogant smirk. Figures, don't it? "After three thousand years, I've become a very good at reading minds by the type of person they are, and their reactions to different things."  
  
"Sounds complicated." I said, "Are you in my head or not?"  
  
Another smirk, but he decided not to answer my question, "You aren't going to be able to get away, so don't even try if you aren't after trouble."  
  
Whoa. Now that earns the award for the freakiest thing ever said to me. He started to walk away, and Ryou and Yugi followed him. I didn't. Bryac noticed, and stopped to look at me.  
  
"Come on." He said firmly, "I'm not in the mood to argue again."  
  
I answered by turning my nose up and looking in the opposite direction. You know, just to bug him. "You can't control me. If you decided to ask nicely, however..."  
  
He grabbed me by my arm, "I don't need to ask. That wasn't a suggestion. You've coming with me weather you like it or not."  
  
"Let GO!"  
  
He pulled harder and started to drag my across the deck. I yanked back, and though my arm started to hurt REALLY bad, I was holding my own on staying put. I wish he would just stop pulling! I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I WISH HE WOULD DIEEEEE!  
  
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"  
  
"STOP FIGHTING AND COME WITH ME! YOU'RE BEING A PAIN!"  
  
"THEN I'M A PAIN! I DON'T WANT TO GO!"  
  
"COME ON!"  
  
"I DON'T WANT TO!!"  
  
"YOU'RE GONNA DO IT WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"  
  
"IF I HAVE TO DO IT, I'M NOT GOING MY FIRST TIME WITH YOU!"  
  
"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE HERE!"  
  
"Am I...interrupting something?"  
  
We both stopped dead, and looked at the person who had spoken. Cavamick looked between the two of us and we all stood still in time for a while. Then, WHAM! Bryac let go of me so fast I lost my balance and fell onto the ground.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Soh Bryac, we're still waiting for you."  
  
"I'm coming I'm coming." He said, way more then a little irritated.  
  
"It's just the four of you left, we can't leave until you're on the land with us."  
  
"I understand. Go ahead and take Yugi and Ryou down, I'll be just a few moments longer. I just want to show this...girl something before we leave."  
  
Oh, I do not like the way he said that.  
  
Cavamick left with Yugi and Ryou like he was told, and Bryac gave me the EVILIST look as he approached me. I couldn't help back up a little; afraid of the way he was smiling.  
  
"Caitlin, if I can't trust you to stay with us, than I'll have to take drastic measures."  
  
I mustered up a little prideful courage and was able to straighten up a little on the ground. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
He grinned demonically, and reached at me very slowly. I flinched when he did it at first, because I thought he was just going to put his hand on my breast. WHICH ISN'T A GOOD THING TO BEGIN WITH, but it was WAY better compared to what he was actually doing.  
  
His hand went right through me!  
  
He hand sorta glowed, and he was able to get it INTO my body! The feeling was awful! It felt like someone giving you a shot, minus the needle. You know that pressure that doesn't really hurt, but is really uncomfortable? Okay, now picture getting a shot, THAT WAS SUPER COLD!  
  
I yelped out loud when he did it. And then, he made things even more fun by letting his arm go into me, and then his entire body until he was inside me! I could see, but I couldn't control my body! I was panicking inside of me as my own body just walked calmly down the ramp to shore. Then he let me have my body back, and calmly walked out into the shore like nothing had happened.  
  
"NEVER." I said shakily, "NEVER. EVER. DO THAT. AGAIN!"  
  
He shrugged innocently, mimicking my past gustier to his lecture on being 'picked up and taken away'  
  
"You left me no choice."  
  
"What the heck was that anyway!?"  
  
Bryac shrugged his shoulders innocently, "I may look living, but I'm still dead; and ghosts can easily possess living bodies."  
  
"If you EVER, try that again, I swear Bryac I'm going to perform an exorcist!"  
  
He didn't seem to mind, and strolled right back over to the group of men ahead of us. I scowled at him, but ran to catch up with the group. How I loathe him. And I've only really known him for a day or so.  
  
That baka.  
  
~*~*~ Ryou ~*~*~  
  
It was unbelievable! People of all ages were busily wandering around and hurrying away with all sorts of foreign things. The people all looked and dressed completely differently, and it was impossible to find two that looked remotely similar. There were medieval knights, ancient Greeks, native Americans, and even a few looked like they were from my time period.  
  
I could only gape at the surroundings as we walked, and could only barely keep my eyes on where I was going.  
  
"Swords for sale!" A merchant shouted, looking at the small group of excited children that had gathered to gawk at the weapons displayed on the table, "Open for trade only!"  
  
Absentmindedly, I touched the dagger attached to my belt loop and felt another phase of guilt start to well up. How could I ever get used to doing this? I tried to shrug the thought off my back and continue to stare at the strange bazaar. That's when I realized that most of the merchants were selling weapons.  
  
It's something that most people don't really care about, but I always end up being the exception. I don't like killing or death, and even avoid war movies at the theater though my friends try and persuade me to see them. To find a whole civilization of people that is so wound up in swords and perish, and even the children! It was just heart wrenching! I don't care if the people are already 'dead', that's still no excuse to kill them off just because.  
  
"This is where we're stopping." Darren announced, halting the group in front of an old fashioned looking hotel.  
  
"So this is it?" Bryac asked, taking a good look at the building and arching an eyebrow.  
  
Gale re-read the sign above the doorway, "This is it, Dull Blade Tavern."  
  
"Yukio was rumored to have stayed here with a few people and get them to join him in finding the Destined Three and the other item that we don't know about." Cavamick explained, "It was only supposed to be two days ago, maybe there are still people here who can give us information?"  
  
"Good as hunch as any." Bryac said.  
  
Gale nodded, "Let's just go on in and see what happens."  
  
There were mumbled words of agreement and we all stepped inside. I've never been in a tavern before, and it was quite a surprise what I saw in front of me. There were tables and chairs set up all around for eating and talking at, and there was even a small bar in the back of the room.  
  
There were a large amount of people in the tavern, but not nearly as many as I expected just coming out from a crowded street. Bryac stepped up to the counter to talk to the owner of the tavern, and Darren brushed us over to an empty table.  
  
"Phew," Caitlin said quietly, "This place stinks."  
  
"People bring their animals here every once in a while when they stop. This is where everyone gets the tickets for the donkey stables, so watch your step." Cavamick explained.  
  
We all grimaced at the thought, and I got a feeling that someone was watching me. I turned around and noticed that everyone in the tavern was just silently watching us. They didn't look very happy, and it made me feel very uneasy. As soon as I got a good look at them, though, they turned and looked away so I couldn't see their faces. I nudged Yugi and jerked my head in the direction of a certain table behind us that was watching us very closely.  
  
"What is it?" He asked, after getting the same results in trying to look.  
  
"Those people are making me feel awkward. They keep staring at us for no reason."  
  
"Of course they're staring at you." Yoko said, leaning over and joining in our conversation. "One of them is Yunas. He's our top spy in The Alliance, and I'm pretty sure that he already knows who you are."  
  
"That, and no one wants anything to do with the war." Gale said in response, "They are in denial, and don't want to even look at people who are trying to practically save them!"  
  
"Calm down, Gale." Thina cooed, "They are ignorant fools, we already know that. And there is nothing we can do."  
  
"Alright." Bryac announced, coming over to our table, "I was able to get us a room."  
  
"So I guess this is good-bye?" Darren said, getting up and giving Bryac a firm hand shake and pat on the back.  
  
Bryac nodded, "We'll take over from here, you need to get back to your work."  
  
"Understood." Cavamick said, "Take care, Bryac. We're entrusting you with the lives of the three. Remember to protect them with your ver live, because if they get in the hands of Yukio than the entire civilization will fall apart."  
  
"So no pressure!" Cavamick joked, slinging an arm around Bryac, "We know you can take care of yourself, so we'll see you later, alright?"  
  
"Awww." Yoko whined, "Are you sure you have to leave, and so soon?"  
  
"Yoko," Bryac warned.  
  
"Don't worry, Yoko, we'll be back!" Gale said, ruffling her hair like a big brother would, "You can't get rid of us that easily!"  
  
Bryac rolled his eyes, and Yoko giggled. After all the good-byes were said, but before they left, Cavamick pulled me aside.  
  
"Listen, Ryou, that dagger you have is a good weapon. Take good care of it alright?"  
  
I nodded, and he grinned. That was the last time we'd ever see him,  
  
but I knew none of that then.  
  
Only Thina knew about the harsh future we had ahead of us. The unforgiving paths we'd have to tackle, and the merciless enemies. She'd tell us none of it though, so we had no way of knowing about the terrors that we'd soon have to face in the near future, or the betrayal of a very close friend that would bring about our doom.  
  
No one else knew, so we had no way of preventing it.  
  
That's a good enough reason for regret.  
  
If there is a god, we could use all the help we could get right about now.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
All- *blink* *blink*  
  
Caitlin- Oo Was that your tried attempt at angst?  
  
Retaw: *shrug* I know it was kinda confusing. But I wrote it, thought it sounded cool and both explained and confused the readers. ^_^  
  
Readers- -__-;;  
  
Yugi- ....so how come Thina knew?  
  
Retaw: *glare* You should know by now that I'm not going to tell you! YOU MUST READ! AND REVIEW!  
  
SUNC! 


	18. Dinner should be simple, yes, it should

Retaw- HELLO ALL YOU HAPPY PEOPLE'S ONCE AGAIN!  
  
Cami- *cocks head to one side* You seem...different...somehow.  
  
Retaw- ^_____^ HAI! I got my hair done yesterday and made it all anime-ful. It's got two really thick blond streaks down each side, and it's choppy/spiky on both sides near my face. Now all I need is a Japanese School Uniform like Stevie's!  
  
Editor- *poses*  
  
Retaw- Anywho, I'm going straight to the chapter this time. HOWEVER, because I am in such a good mood, there will be a contest at the end of the chapter on how YOU can earn a part in a future chapter of Dreams Do Come True!  
  
TO THE STORY!  
  
~&~&~&~  
  
Everyone had cooled down, and we were all back in the living room like normal people. Well, as normal as three dead Egyptians that just became mortal can be. My stomach growled loudly and I let my tongue hang out. It was time for food. I hadn't had anything good to eat in so long, I needed food that was actually....edible. School lunches don't count! I know edible food will be hard to find, but I think I know just how to get it.  
  
"Pharaoh." I whined, "Make me food."  
  
Yami looked up from his picture book reading and gave me that, 'look'. He arched an eyebrow at me and didn't even bother to answer.  
  
How rude is he?  
  
"Bakura." I whined, "Pharaoh's mean. Make me food."  
  
He growled at me, which said quite clearly, 'Don't even go there'...so, I didn't. I moaned and turned over on the couch so I could lay on my stomach and glare at them. They didn't seem to mind, I must not have a menacing enough glare. I will work on that, right after food.  
  
I got up from the couch and raided the kitchen pantries, making sure to be very loud and obnoxious so Yami and Bakura would be sure to notice that I was doing work that THEY should have been nice and done for me. In the end, the only things edible in the entire house that looked good to me, was pizza sauce, instant noodles, bread, and baking soda (which I don't know if it's edible or not, but it has the word 'soda' in it, so it has to be descent)  
  
"Bakura..." I said, "You took a Home Ec class...-"  
  
He grumbled at the very mention of the class.  
  
[A/N: Yeah, you missed his first class. But don't worry, ^_^ I'll catch you up in a chapter or two]  
  
"-What can you make with noodles, pizza sauce, bread, and baking soda?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Geez, those stupid classes are wasted on you. Hey Yami do you-"  
  
"No."  
  
"....M'kay..."  
  
Suddenly, inspiration struck me. I would just mix all of the stuff in one bowl and see what happens! Maybe it would be good, and I could become a famous cook! And what's more, actually be fed! I started immediately in concocting my newest experiment. It would be great, I just knew it in my gut!  
  
-*-*-*- ONE CONCOCTION LATER -*-*-*-  
  
Dude...I need to get a new gut.  
  
I stirred the mixture of noodles and red sauce delicately. It bubbled every time I stopped, and I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. Whatever it was, it didn't look that good. Not that I would admit it in front of the other yamis. Speaking of yamis, here's one now! Yami wrinkled his nose at the sight of my concoction when he came back from setting the table. (My orders, isn't that cool?) Bakura looked at it curiously, then at me, then at Yami.  
  
"This is what we are expected to eat?" Bakura asked.  
  
"Yes....and I'd like to see you do better." I answered, flicking my spoon in his direction and sending sauce flying unintentionally all over the floor.  
  
I started to fish out the food from the huge pot and dumped it into a bowl next to the oven. The noodles were very hard looking and there were large unappetizing chunks of what I hoped were tomato floating around in the watery substance...but then again, they could be the bits of bread that didn't have mold on them that I threw in the pot, you never could know with these things. There were a few more looks of disgust from the two, and Yami poked uneasily at a lone chunk with his fork.  
  
"Are you sure it's done cooking?" He said, skeptically.  
  
"I...uh...well, h-how do you know when it's done?" I asked Bakura.  
  
"How am I supposed to know?" snapped Bakura, "I don't cook."  
  
"Two words, Bakura, HOME ECONOMICS!" I said.  
  
A cringe.  
  
"That still doesn't mean that I know how to know how to make this stuff." Bakura said, trying his hardest to keep his frustration and embarrassment unknown.  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot, you FAILED that class." I said, pestering him for the fun of it.  
  
Bakura looked ready to pounce, so I backed up a little and felt very fortunate that Yami interrupted him.  
  
"I think I remember Yugi telling me something once about throwing the noodles at a wall first, to see if they stuck. If they stick to the wall, they are done cooking." Yami said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Thank goodness Yugi knows what he's doing." I said. "Cause I'm starved."  
  
I grabbed a fist full of noodles and threw it as hard as I could onto the wall. It made a loud 'SPLAT!' noise, and slid just a little downward before halting. No one knew what to think now. It didn't stick at first...but then it did.  
  
"Now what?" I asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. Yugi never mentioned if it slid down the wall, then again," Yami said, eyeing the ball of food on the wall, "I'm pretty sure he didn't add the fact of YOU being the cook..."  
  
Bakura also grabbed some noodles and flung it at the wall, resulting in the same way my noodles did. He grumbled and grabbed more noodles to fling, all ending the same. He started to get frustrated, and finally gave up after about six throws. Yami saw the display of Bakura failing, and by the smirk he gave me, he had a sudden urge to do better then Bakura had been able to accomplish.  
  
Competitiveness, it's just how them two are.  
  
He grabbed a huge handful and threw it against the wall, hard, like a 70- mph professional baseball player pitch with food. Bakura and I could only stare as the food zoomed at the wall, and stuck like glue. Another confident smirk from Yami, as he cracked his knuckles and turned back to them.  
  
"It is done." He announced.  
  
Bakura scowled at him, and I smiled to know that my dinner was done. (and made a good base-ball) The only problem, was that together, Bakura, Yami, and I had used up all the noodles and all that was left was what looked like a thin tomato sauce.  
  
"Well, now that dinner is officially cooked, how do we eat it?" I said, praying Yami knew what to do. Unfortunately,  
  
He didn't.  
  
"Great job Pharaoh." Bakura said, peeling off a noodle from the wall, "And I'm still hungry I hope you know. And if I don't get any food soon..."  
  
I could tell he was threatening me, but my attention was elsewhere. I just now realized my new family was going to KILL me if they came back to a messy wall.  
  
"Oh shoot! The wall!"  
  
I sprinted over to the sink and grabbed two sponges. I shoved them into the hands of the other two and started to search for some soap.  
  
"What's this for?" Bakura said, dangling the sponge from his thumb and pointer finger.  
  
"Clean the wall off right now!" I shouted, my head under the sink looking franticly as if 'mom' was going to come back at that very moment, although I really had no clue when she would come back.  
  
"I don't clean." Bakura said stubbornly.  
  
"You do now! Just scrub the wall really hard until the food comes off while I check for some soap in the bathroom." I shouted.  
  
Yami tried it out, "This isn't going to come off easy..."  
  
"Just scrub as hard as you can until the wall is clean and junk!" I yelled, dashing down the hall into the hot pink bathroom and diving under another sink for soap.  
  
When I came back with a small bottle of soap, I stopped and almost dropped the entire thing onto the floor. I could only shout in distress as Yami and Bakura looked up at me with a look as innocent as would be possible for them. They were rubbing so hard on the wall that the pink paint was coming off and the wall was now all chipped up and very old looking. I would have be amazed that a wall could look 10 years older in ten minutes, but at the second a was a little occupied.  
  
"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING!" I exclaimed.  
  
Yami stopped cleaning at last and stared blankly at him, "We're cleaning off the wall."  
  
"YOU'RE PEELING THE PAINT OFF!" I said, feeling the wall in case it wasn't as bad as it looked.  
  
"Isn't that what we were supposed to do?" Yami said, resting a hand on his hip while the other still leaned up against the wall.  
  
"NO! NO THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING! I've got to do something, there has to be a- aha! I'll be right back, you all stay here and do nothing! AND I MEAN NOTHING! I CANNOT TRUST YOU!"  
  
I dropped the soap and started to race off in a desperate attempt to find paint to fix the wall with. I head Bakura scoff behind me, but I had no choice but to ignore it. I HATE being a party poop, and I'm still HUNGRY! I came back momentarily with the only paint I could find. It was acrylic paint from the craft closet, and although it was white, there weren't any other paints in the entire house.  
  
"But the wall isn't white," Yami objected, as I squeezed the paint into a random bowl. "It's pink."  
  
"I know that." I said, dipping a paintbrush into the bucket and stirring, "That's why I'm adding red food coloring to turn it pink!"  
  
"Food coloring?" Yami said, "RED food coloring?"  
  
"Yes." I said, "White and red make pink. Come on Yami you should know this by now."  
  
"But-"  
  
I didn't listen for what he was going to say, I mixed the red food coloring into the white paint and beamed at the color pink it was slowly turning. I grabbed my brush and started to paint the wall, very slowly I might add. I put the bucket that I had filled with paint behind me so I could get to it easily. I had only covered a few inches with paint before Yami had something more to say about the paint.  
  
"It's not the same color as the old paint is." He pointed out.  
  
"Sure it is, pink is pink." I said, taking no notice of his observations.  
  
"No, it isn't. You can tell exactly where you've painted."  
  
"It's fine." I turned and looked at Bakura and Yami, who were just standing there doing nothing but watch me, and scowled, "I wouldn't object if you helped me out. Bakura, grab a paint brush or something and help me out with this."  
  
Bakura folded his arms across his chest; "I don't paint."  
  
"WELL YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" I snapped, "GET A PAINT BRUSH AND GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!"  
  
Bakura glared at me, but he did pick up one of the paintbrushes I had put on the table. He didn't take his ever-glaring eyes off me as he painted a tiny place on the wall. I sighed and got up from the floor, unfortunately noticing the splatter of pink paint on my shirt. Yami tried not to laugh at the sight of not only me with paint on my shirt, but Bakura painting a wall pink. I took a step back to look at my handy work, and did the worst possible thing that could ever be done with paint.  
  
I knocked the pink paint over onto the Persian rug on the floor.  
  
Everyone immediately stopped, and we only watched it soak into the rug for a long time. Then Bakura's eyebrows raised, Yami's mouth curved into a silent 'O', and I let out an overwhelmed scream.  
  
"OH MY RA NO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, snatching a large amount of napkins and dappling the rug with no avail. I picked up the rug in my hands and ran to the laundry room with the rug cradled in my arms like a deathly ill child. Yami came in behind me and watched me struggle while trying to stuff the rug into the washing machine.  
  
"We've got to start this thing." I said, panting and hitting the top of the monster contraption to get it to start.  
  
"Ok," Yami said, "Throwing food against the wall was one thing, but washing a rug?"  
  
"It's simple, all you do is put in the soap and...start it I think." I said, giving it another kick and noticing the two bottles of stuff on the side of the machine. One of those must be the soap.  
  
I picked up an orange jug and a purple one, "I think it's one of these."  
  
The jug had something written on it in large white letters, but I couldn't read this new language at all and it meant nothing to me. The purple one had a picture of a washing machine much like the one we were trying to use, washing a load of white shirts. I understood this one much better, and pointed it out to Yami.  
  
"This orange one has words on it that I can't read. It could be anything! But look how nice and white it made the clothes on this jug of purple junk. I think that's the one we want."  
  
Yami studied the picture, "I'm just going to pray that you know what you're doing, scribe. How much do we put in?"  
  
I looked at the cap of the purple jug closely. There were little lines down the side that I assumed were meant to measure the liquid soap, but I didn't know how to use them. After telling Yami to just put however much in that looks right, I hurried back to the kitchen to see how Bakura was doing with that painting. I was very angry to see nothing had changed since I left him, and decided to take matters into my own hands.  
  
"Bakura, you can make some dinner." I told him firmly.  
  
"I don't-" He began hotly.  
  
"Yeah yeah I know. 'You don't cook, you don't clean, and you don't paint.' But I'm sure you can make SOMETHING."  
  
I began to raid the pantry, looking for something easy to cook and eat. Finally, I found the perfect thing and handed it to Bakura.  
  
"Here." I said, "Put this in the microwave."  
  
He looked at it, "Popcorn?"  
  
"Yes, I'm glad to see you recognize the picture of all the little dancing kernels on the bag, Now cook it."  
  
"I refuse to eat popcorn for a meal!"  
  
"Well too bad, you're either going to eat this or not eat at all."  
  
He gave me another glare. He seemed to be giving me a lot of those lately, and I could tell I was pushing my luck by ordering him around like this. But I was proud of myself all and all. I was taking a reasonable leader role, everything was being taken care of pretty well, and no one had murdered anyone yet. I started to paint the wall once again, feeling very secure at the moment, having no idea that my luck was going to change right....now.  
  
RING!  
  
I jumped, and paint splattered all over the wall from my brush. Bakura tore away from watching the popcorn pop to lift the phone to his ear.  
  
"Who is this?" He said, very grouchily I might add.  
  
His face very quickly went from cross, confused, to very angry. He looked at the phone in a way that I'm sure would give the person on the other line of the phone nightmares if only he (or she) could see him. He growled into the phone and forced the it into my paint-covered hands. He called the person on the other line something...lets just say, something very VERY rude that I wouldn't even say in my head. I spoke into the phone curiously to see who made Bakura that angry.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Caitlin! Who was that boy on the phone a minute ago!?"  
  
So it was Caitlin's new mom that messed with Bakura.  
  
No surprise there.  
  
"Uh...hi.... Mom." I said in a high voice so it sounded more like my aibou.  
  
"Caitlin that is NOT the answer to my question!" She yelled, "WHO WAS THAT BOY!?"  
  
"He's...a friend."  
  
"I don't like the sound of that 'friend.'" A very bad thought must have occurred to her suddenly, because she added suspiciously, "How long has he been there?"  
  
I forgot completely that Bakura wasn't supposed to be there, too did I forget that it was bad for a boy and a girl to be together in an empty house when I answered, "A day or two."  
  
There was a loud gasp, and then, "CAITLIN!"  
  
Oops.  
  
"Mom!" I pleaded, "He came over to..."  
  
I looked to Bakura for help, who was giving none of it. He kept glancing at me with an amused look on his face, then turning back and cursing at the popcorn.  
  
"He came over to help me with my experiment about...popcorn!"  
  
"And he stayed why!?"  
  
"Because his car broke down! And then it...burst into flames! And he had to stay here because the police..."  
  
This time, Bakura looked at me with a look that said simply, 'Stupid mistake...' and I knew at once I had said something wrong. There was one more gasp from the other line and my 'mother' screamed into the phone.  
  
"CAITLIN! NOT ONLY DID HE STAY BUT HE'S IN TROUBLE WITH THE POLICE! I HOPE YOU TWO DIDN'T SHARE THE SAME BED! YOU DIDN'T SHARE THE SAME BED DID YOU!? FOR ALL I KNOW YOU TWO COULD HAVE BEEN-"  
  
I felt my face turn pale and I shuddered at the very thought, "NO! NONONONO NO WAY I- THAT IS VERY WRONG! VERY VERY WRONG!"  
  
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GROUNDED MISSY! WHAT HAPPENED TO NOT HAVING ANYONE OVER AND-"  
  
She was suddenly interrupted by a shout in alarm from Bakura yelling, 'FIRE!' loudly. Bakura had somehow set the popcorn on fire in the microwave and the whole thing was smoking heavily. Yami ran in quickly to help, saying something about smelling smoke, and I was left with a screaming mother on the other end. Because I needed to help, and because I didn't know how to turn the cordless phone off, I just set it on the table.  
  
Yami opened the microwave and smoke billowed into the room, causing everyone to cough a few times. Bakura grabbed the cooking tongs, pulled the flaming bag out and dropped it on the counter. Then I poured my old cup of soda on the bag, luckily putting out the fire successfully. Only then I had a new problem.  
  
Dealing with Caitlin's 'mom' still listening on the phone.  
  
I picked up the phone gingerly, and if you didn't know what a phone was, you would think I was picking up a bomb that could explode any second. I asked if she was still there quietly, trying to make it as inaudible as possible so she wouldn't answer and I could hang up. Unfortunately, she did hear me. And the bomb exploded. I had to pull the phone away from my ear because of how loudly she screeched at me this time.  
  
"WHAT WAS THAT! I HEARD TWO BOYS TALKING NOT ONE! YOU'RE JUST PUSHING YOURSELF FARTHER AND FARTHER INTO TROUBLE CAITLIN! AND IF THE ONE IS IN BAD TROUBLE WITH THE POLICE I DON'T WANT YOU 'FRIENDS' WITH JUVINILE DELINQUENTS! AND I SUGGEST YOU TELL THOSE 'BOYS' TO GO HOME BECAUSE IF I HAVE TO HEAR ONE MORE WORD FROM THAT-"  
  
The phone was far enough away from me and loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. That was including Bakura, who at the moment, was being called as bad things as Bakura had called her earlier, except there were way more of them. I didn't know what to do to shut her up, and she didn't even stop for a breath in her screaming fit. Bakura's eye twitched a little before he came up to me and said coolly.  
  
"Give me the phone."  
  
I did so, and he started to talk, just as loud as the mother was. I could tell by the way he looked that he was about to get back at mom with all that he had. He cursed her in both Egyptian and English, and the only 'suitable' words he said were at the very end.  
  
"AND if you value your life, mortal, I suggest you never insult me like that again or I will be forced to send you to the shadow realm!"  
  
Then, he hung up. Yami sneered, "Great job Bakura, now she thinks not only thinks that you have a car that broke down and bust into flames, but also that you're crazy."  
  
"No mortal should EVER talk to me like that. I was just making that known Pharaoh."  
  
There was a little buzzing noise that came from the laundry room, and I ran to see how the rug came out. I held high hopes for having the rug come out as if it hadn't been touched, better then that even. Only that isn't what it looked like. I flipped the door open to the washer and saw the end of Caitlin flash before my eyes.  
  
She was to be murdered by her mother for the condition of that rug.  
  
Although it didn't have any paint on it, the rug itself was limp. Most of it was unraveled. It was completely stripped of it's color, except for a pale pink color that I guessed was because of the paint the rug soaked up before going in the wash. It was frayed on the edges, and looked like a regular piece of junk. No wonder the clothes on the picture of the soap jug were all white. It was because the soap was bleach.  
  
"Is that how it's supposed to look?" I asked the others, wanting a 'yes' although I knew the answer was, 'no'.  
  
They just shook their heads as I pulled the rug out of the small compartment. It fell to the ground from my hands, and I sighed.  
  
"So...who wants to go out for dinner tonight?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Retaw- ^_^ There, the chapter for this week is finished! The Yami's don't know about it yet, because they can't read the letter they wrote, but Caitlin's mom and sister are at a Family Reunion. So...yes...  
  
Oh! R&R! And if you're curious, I've started another fic called The Left Behind that you might enjoy! JA NE! SUNC!  
  
~  
  
*** CONTEST ***  
  
Appear in a future Dreams Do Come True chapter! All you have to do is fill in the 'form' thingy below, and you can have a small part in a chapter! Put the form in the review you send me though, not in an e-mail.  
  
NAME: [Put in your name]  
  
APPEARANCE: [What do you look like]  
  
WHAT CHAPTER: [Would you rather be in a Yami chapter, or Dream Realm one?]  
  
WHAT YOU WANT TO DO: [Ok, this will be fun. I will put no end to the amount of things you can do when you appear. Want to glomp your favorite character? Give someone a present on your way? Ask questions, or set fire to your least favorite characters hair? Write it all here, and your will be done!]  
  
~ And that's all you need. The winner will be chosen December 14 2003, so be sure to have your entry in by then. GOOD LUCK! 


	19. The Fire Demon

Retaw- *twitch* ...*twitch* Nothing...to...talk about. *twitch*  
  
Caitlin- O.O Nothing? Wow, that must be a record or something.  
  
Retaw- I must go on with next chapter...before...I pop...  
  
Caitlin- Kay. ^_^ If you don't want to talk, it's fine with me.  
  
Retaw- WAIT! I REMEMBER SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT NOW!  
  
Caitlin- Go to the chapter! GO! BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!  
  
~*~* Yugi *~*~  
  
"This is where we'll be sleeping." Bryac announced, pushing the door open. "There isn't anyone else staying at the tavern, so we'll be alone tonight."  
  
"That's good." Ryou said, looking around at the dirty room, "But...there's only three beds, how will we all fit?"  
  
Bryac snickered, "The rules of the Tavern state that there can only be five to a bed. Someone will have to have a bedmate."  
  
I shivered, thinking of having some old man that I didn't know having to sleep right next to me and suddenly being a ton more grateful that we would be alone. Everyone looked around in silence for a moment, having nothing else to say.  
  
There were only six of us now, Yoko, Thina, Bryac, Caitlin, Ryou and me. It was almost a little awkward having so little amount of people with us. To tell the truth, I really felt sorta of...I don't know...alone. After being attacked by monsters and being stuck in a boat in a storm, I had grown to like being surrounded by a large number of people who knew what they were doing. Now I felt more vulnerable, and that made me nervous. Maybe it was something that Yami had told me a while back...  
  
'You have good instincts on these sorts of things, aibou.' He had told me, 'If you feel like something bad is going to happen, then take caution. Because, young one, you should never doubt your feelings.'  
  
I mentally sighed, wishing Yami could give me advice on this one. In spite of what Yami said, I couldn't help wonder if I was just overreacting. What could possibly happen?  
  
Suddenly, Bryac broke the ice. "I'm going downstairs for a drink." He told us, "Coming Yugi? Ryou?"  
  
I blinked a few times to snap myself out of 'lala land'. I knew I had to get my mind off bad omens, and went ahead and followed him back down to the food area of the tavern. Ryou had a huge hesitation moment before coming after us, and I couldn't help smile at the nervous look plastered on his face.  
  
"Yugi," He whispered to me, "I don't know about this. Does he mean an alcoholic drink?"  
  
"Calm down, Ryou, I'm sure they have other things here. You don't need to worry that much."  
  
I don't know why, but I felt a little jealous that the worst Ryou had to worry about was what to drink. We all sat down at an empty table. There wasn't anyone left in the building but us, now, even the people who had been sitting at the bar when we had first come in had gone away. The whole place seemed...abnormally quiet. I looked around a few times before nudging Bryac.  
  
"Where is everybody?" I asked quietly, feeling strange to speak any louder.  
  
Bryac looked around carefully for a long time, observing every little detail before admitting, "I don't know."  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry, sirs, I'll bring your drinks to you right away!" A waitress exclaimed hurriedly, popping up from behind the bar and scaring the daylights out of me before I realized it wasn't someone come to kill us.  
  
Bryac nodded to her to continue, and she shed a smile before going back underneath the bar once again. There were scattered sounds of clanging and crashing as the waitress rummaged through glasses rapidly and poured a green looking liquid into each. She smiled and took a breath before setting them down on our table and dashing away.  
  
Ryou bit his lip, and poked at the glass a few times before Bryac turned to him and held Ryou's hand down.  
  
"Don't drink it." He ordered, "Something isn't right."  
  
He held the drink up to the candlelight and studied the bubbles as the floated through the lime green drink. His eyes narrowed a bit as he looked closer, and then, he poured his entire cup full out onto the candle. I gasped as the entire candle, which had been barely used before, melted instantly into a bubbling puddle on the wooden table.  
  
Bryac took a deep breath, and nodded while saying, 'I figured as much.'  
  
"What is that stuff?" I asked him uneasily.  
  
Bryac cocked an eyebrow at me, as if forgetting for a moment how little I knew about this place. " Its Montaii blood. Burns you from the inside out and turns your bones into dust."  
  
I felt my mouth fall open, "They tried to kill us? What do we do?"  
  
"Get up." Bryac said, firmly but urgently, "We've got to get out of here. Now."  
  
-=*=-=* Caitlin *=-=*=-  
  
Yoko smiled down at me and sat me down on the bed.  
  
"So..." She said.  
  
Her grinning was starting to freak me out. Last time people grinned like that at me, I ended up having a surprise makeover where they cut my hair.  
  
"So what?" I asked her.  
  
"So, what do you think of Bryac?" She asked, grinning even wider.  
  
I cringed at the name, "I think he's a conceited, arrogant, bossy, baka."  
  
Yoko's smile faded, and Thina's eyes turned to me. It was always a little creepy to have Thina look at you. You always knew she was looking at you, but her eyes always looked off in the distance, and they were all translucent and always glowed slightly.  
  
"It's natural for you to clash with him." Thina said, "You're used to being independent, Bryac is used to being a leader. You don't like following orders and he doesn't like orders to be ignored."  
  
I shook my head, "I doubt it's anywhere as complicated as that. It's simple, really, I hate him, he hates me. And thus, the universe is in balance."  
  
Yoko sighed, "You are very strange, Caitlin."  
  
I grinned, "Ah, my very favorite quality of myself."  
  
Yoko shook her head and started to bounce up and down on the bed. We were alone, almost. I was among friends, I could ask them a simple question.  
  
"Hey Yoko, Thina?" I said, waiting till they both looked up, "Uh, I need you to be completely truthful with me on this one."  
  
Yoko nodded, "Always."  
  
I took a breath before continuing, "We ARE going to be able to get home, right? Like, soon?"  
  
Both Thina and Yoko stopped, and looked at each other uncertainly. I instantly felt an icky feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. Did their looks mean we were stuck? I thought we could get home! Where are we going if we aren't going home!? I gave them both a warning glance before they could answer, because I really wasn't in the mood to hear I'd be stuck here for the rest my life.  
  
"We...we're doing our very best to find a way to get you out of here." Yoko said, "We really are, believe me. But it's going to be a while yet. It's going to be very difficult to get you out of here. It means breaking the fabric in the boundary between life and death, and then closing it back up before souls find and go through it."  
  
I groaned, and let my head fall back onto the wall behind me. This was just getting better and better every second I stayed. What's going on with my life while I'm gone? No one can be me better then I can, that's for sure. What if something happens? I was starting to feel a major yearning for OUT on this journey. Sure it was fun, but for what price?  
  
"Are you starting to feel homesick?" Yoko questioned, leaning over to look at my face. "Missing your home? Your family?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, nah. I don't really have much of a family to miss to tell you the truth. My mom and dad died a while back and I've been alone since."  
  
"I'm sorry about that."  
  
"No, it's not your fault. Actually I just want to know how things are going over on the other side of the realm. Other than that, I don't really have much of a preference where I am."  
  
"...is that so..."  
  
I stretched a little bit, and got up off the bare wooden floor. "I'm going to have a look around for a while, I'll be back soon though ok?"  
  
"Fine with us." Yoko chirped with her usual happy nature. "Just be careful!"  
  
I smiled and waved a quick goodbye before going into the hallway. Taking a look around, I snorted at Yoko's request. Be careful? What was there to be careful of? It was a building for goshness sake. There weren't a very large number of other rooms, just a few necessary ones. I walked past a food storage area, a bathroom looking place, (which didn't look very...clean) another bedroom that looked like it belonged to a manager, and a completely empty room.  
  
...or so I thought...  
  
"Help, somebody help me!"  
  
I stopped in mid step. Was somebody just calling for help? I turned around slowly and stared in the empty room again. The voice sounded like it came from in there, but there wasn't anyone in there that needed help. I looked closer, just in case.  
  
Nothing. Just a room with a small closet in the corner.  
  
"Help me!"  
  
There it was again! I swear, it sounded just like it was coming from the room, but even the closet didn't look big enough for a person to fit into. It was a tiny thing, barely able to fit a small dog into. But maybe it was just big enough for a small boy to get trapped inside...  
  
"Where are you?" I asked, stepping deeper into the room.  
  
"In here!" The voice answered, "Please help me! I've been locked in here for a lifetime!"  
  
A lifetime? Maybe it was just an exaggeration. I took a step inside the room and felt a sudden chill on my back. It was freaky enough to make me want to leave, but I couldn't let that boy just sit there trapped. I had to help him!  
  
"Hurry..." The young voice said, "Let me free...I can't wait any longer..."  
  
Another chill. What the heck was up with this situation that made me feel like I was doing something wrong? I shrugged it off, and reached for the knob on the small closet.  
  
"Hold on." I said, "I've almost-"  
  
I touched the knob and drew my hand back quickly. That stupid thing BURNED me! I blew on my fingertips and jumped when I heard a loud thump coming from inside the closet.  
  
"Let me out!" It cried, "Let me out please!"  
  
"I can't!" I snapped, "The damn thing burnt my fingers!"  
  
"Just hurry and open it, the pain won't last long, you must help me."  
  
Shoot. How the heck did I know it was going to say something like that? Of course I guess it would plain lunacy for the boy to say, 'Oh, ok. But thanks for trying!' I closed my eyes and took a huge breath before reaching for the knob again with both hands.  
  
I screamed out in agony as my hands hit the scorching knob. White hot pain seared through my veins and held my burning hands to the knob so I couldn't let go. Having enough common sense to save myself from being cooked alive, I yanked hard enough to open the closet door. As soon as the duty was done, the knob let me go immediately and I felt myself land hard back onto the floor. I whimpered and started to do everything possible to ease the pulsing pain, but it was no use. The voice chuckled.  
  
"Thank you, mortal." It laughed, "I could have never freed myself from that prison without your help."  
  
O...K, why am I getting that vibe that I did something wrong again? There was a hot whoosh of wind and the door was blown forcefully open, blowing my hair back and making it too hot for me to keep my eyes open. CRAPCRAPCRAP! What do I do now!? Reacting on instinct and a remembrance of where the closet was in front of me, I lunged for the door and pushed it back closed.  
  
I clenched my teeth as the terrible pain returned. It was unlike anything I had felt before, and I hated it. It felt like someone was slowly sticking thousands of sharp needles into my skin and pushing them harder every second that I held the door closed.  
  
"FOOL!" The voice bellowed, "LET ME FREE!"  
  
Another hard hit of warm air flung me across the room and threw me against the wall. The door was open again, allowing whatever was inside a perfect chance to escape. The room itself started to get very hot, and I saw a large ball of something blood red and black getting bigger and bigger inside the closet thing. Wait a second, that wasn't a closet! It was a cage! CRAP! Why didn't I realize that sooner!! I scrambled to my feet and started to run for my life as the thick smoke billowed from the cage.  
  
"Come back, girl!" He called as I ran, "I mean to thank you for letting me free, you cannot escape now!"  
  
BOOM! I screamed as the entire room behind me exploded into a fiery death pit. Flames licked at my skin, and my hands were killing me, but it was either run or die. So I ran, fast and hard to the room Yoko and Thina were still in. I had to warn them. I had to get out of here before it was too late! I turned to look behind me and cursed loudly seeing the fire spreading on the walls  
  
WHAM!  
  
I ran face first into someone, knocking them into the floor. Luckily, I was able to keep my balance and stared at the boy on the ground.  
  
"Yugi!" I exclaimed, "We have to get out of here!"  
  
"That's just what we were coming to tell you!" Yugi said, getting up, "Someone was trying to kill us down at-" He caught sight of the fire and his eyes must have gotten as big as golfballs. Maybe bigger.  
  
I couldn't wait anymore, and blurted my whole problem out at him, "Yugi I'm really sorry but I opened up some sort of cage and freed a fire monster person that's trying to kill me even though I was the nice one that let him out of the place in the first place and see it wasn't really my fault because I thought he was a little trapped boy in a closet and I didn't want him to be scared or stuck and now we have to RUN FOR OUR LIVES OR HE'LL KILL US!"  
  
I felt a strong grip on my shoulder and was spun around to face Ryou and Bryac, who had just come up the stairs.  
  
"You idiot girl!" He growled, "You just let the legendary fire demon!"  
  
"Hey!" I yelled at him, "It's not my ENTIRE fault! What the hell are they doing with a fire demon in a STUPID TAVERN! They had no warnings or anything, I had no clue!"  
  
"Did you just CHOOSE to ignore the seals on the cage!" Bryac shouted at me, "And contrary to YOUR belief, fire demons aren't a walk in the park to move once you've trapped one!"  
  
"Guys!" Ryou shouted, "Don't we have more important things to worry about?!"  
  
Bryac glared at me, and then grabbed me hard by the hand, "Come on!"  
  
Before I could tell him that his grip was not only cutting off the circulation in my fingers, but also killing my burnt hands, he was yanking me down the hall. I kept my screaming to myself, so I wouldn't look like a wimp in front of this guy who thought from the beginning that women were wimps.  
  
"But Thina and Yoko!" I shouted to him, "They're still in the room!"  
  
"They'll be fine!" He said, "It's not like they're going to just do nothing in a flaming room. What we need to worry about now is getting out of here with our lives!"  
  
"But it's a dead end!" Yugi shouted from behind us, pointing at the wall we were about to run into.  
  
Bryac skidded to a stop and let me go at last. The fire was coming up fast, and random things kept falling off the roof and walls. It was a dangerous situation already, and now we were cornered between a wall and a wall of fire.  
  
"Ryou!" Bryac barked. "I need you to cut through this wall!"  
  
Ryou looked up with both half horror and half confusion. "Me? How could I-"  
  
"You have to cut through the wall to the other side so we can get out of here!" Bryac barked, "You can do it with your dagger! The dagger of Kudsai can cut through anything!"  
  
"But I can't cut through things yet!" Ryou protested, "I won't be able to do it!"  
  
"Well I can't do it with my sword, so it's either you try or we die thanks to your little friend over here letting out a demon!"  
  
"HEY! Since when did I get pulled into this?!" I said defensively.  
  
"Come on Ryou!" Yugi said, "Even if you can't do it, at least you can try!"  
  
...that's just something he would say while we were about to be burned to death.  
  
Ryou took a breath, and murmured something I couldn't catch because of all the smoke. Then, thankfully, he pulled out his dagger and held it out in front of the wall. He closed his eyes, and started to concentrate. Only, it wasn't like a five second concentration thing, it was like a thirty second thing that was still going.  
  
"Could hurry it up Ryou!" I shouted, feeling the ground start to crack underneath us.  
  
His eyes shut tighter, trying his best to concentrate in the middle of a situation like this one. I couldn't help it though, I didn't want to fall down from the second floor! I saw Ryou's hand flinch once, and then he swung his armed hand around in a circle so fast that you could barely see that he moved.  
  
Everyone held their breath as the wall stood as it was, and then, an oval shape crumbled from the wall onto the floor giving us enough room to escape. Ryou was shocked at first, but then he grinned and turned to us.  
  
"I actually did it!" He said.  
  
"Great job, Ryou, now jump!" Bryac told him, ushering to the hole in the wall, "We don't have much time!"  
  
Ryou nodded, but looked out of the hole uncertainly. I could tell he was starting to have second thoughts about jumping from the second floor. He turned to say something, but Bryac gave him a push and sent him falling to the ground before he could get anything out.  
  
"What the hell was that for!" I yelled at him. "You just, PUSHED him out like that!"  
  
"We don't have time for talking!" Bryac told me, "You'll be fine if you jump-"  
  
His words were cut off as a sickening crack ran through the air. We both turned around at the exact moment, and had one second to see the opening in the wooden floor, and one second the hear Yugi's shout for help as he fell down onto the first floor.  
  
"YUGI!" I screamed.  
  
Bryac advanced to the opening and I stopped him, "What do you think you're doing!?"  
  
"Going down to save him, what else!" He snapped, "You go out the wall and wait for us out there!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"GO!"  
  
He didn't leave me any room to object and dove into the flame pit visible from our floor. It took me all my will power not to jump in after him, but I didn't know for sure if I could be of any help. So reluctantly, I dashed to the hole in the wall that Ryou made, and jumped out that way. Screw diving after Bryac, I needed to find help.  
  
-=* Yugi *=-  
  
"What the hell was that for!" Caitlin yelled at him. "You just, PUSHED him out like that!"  
  
"We don't have time for talking!" Bryac told her, "You'll be fine if you jump-"  
  
Suddenly, I felt the ground underneath me crack and fall completely, making me drop right down with it into the hot first floor. Stray pieces of fiery wood rained down on me as I fell onto my knees, and I had to cover my head to keep my hair from catching on fire. Once they stopped, I got up quickly and tried to find a way back up. But there wasn't any.  
  
I instantly panicked, and looked for any way out of the mess. The roof above me was burning like crazy, and even though *I* couldn't fall now, I was more nervous about having a large piece of wood fall on top of me. It made me very nervous, but I knew I had to keep moving.  
  
I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt to filter the smoke best I could. The fire was everywhere, and there were hardly any places to step without burning yourself. I was afraid I'd never move, and die a slow and painful death, but then--  
  
"Yugi!"  
  
I jumped, and looked up hopefully to the voice. The shadowed figure came down from the hole I had made, and started to walk to me. I didn't need to see him clearly to know who it was instantly.  
  
"Bryac!" I shouted, "I'm over here!"  
  
He turned, and that's when I saw something terrifying. The burning pillar over him was teetering on its brace, and it was going to fall at any moment. He was oblivious to both where I was, and the burning pillar, and had no way of knowing what was going to happen! I ran to him as fast as I could, even over some patches of fire, but that wasn't fast enough. It was going to fall on him any moment!  
  
"LOOK OUT!" I yelled, desperate for a way to warn him.  
  
But it was too late, the pillar fell on top of him and I watched horror as the wood scorched his back and held him down at the same time. Bryac started frantically trying his hardest to get the wood off, but it was too big. He needed help. Snapping myself out of the shock, I made my way quickly over to him and tried to pry the wood off his back.  
  
"I CAN'T GET IT OFF!" I shouted in frustration, "I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!"  
  
He screamed out in distress as the fire continued to cook his back, and I kept frantically trying to get it off him. I HAD to do something! I've been stuck in a fire before; I should know how to fix this!  
  
~ FLASHBACK ~  
  
"Come on Yugi!" Joey said, trying to pull my hands off the puzzle, "It's not use! He won't let go!"  
  
"Then we've got to get the puzzle free!" Tristen said, picking up a pole and handing another to Joey. They started to hit the chain hard with the poles, but it wasn't working.  
  
"It's no good!" Tristen shouted.  
  
"Hey Tristen, how about we stick the pole in the hole and pull!" Joey brought up.  
  
~ END ~  
  
I blinked. That's it! I ran over to a chair on the floor that wasn't burning, and pushed the legs under one side of the wood. The legs were elevated enough to lift it enough off Bryac's back and I was able to pull his limp body out from under the wood.  
  
He cried out in pain when I helped him up, but he was able to walk enough to get over to the door. I wasn't tall enough for him to lean on me, but I could help keep him standing. I was almost ready to celebrate surviving two fires, when Bryac had to announce really bad news.  
  
"The door's locked!" He yelled, "I can't get it open!"  
  
"Bryac! Yugi! Is that you?!" A muffled voice called from outside.  
  
"Ryou!" I exclaimed, "We're in here! But we can't get out! The door's locked!"  
  
"Hold on!" Ryou shouted back, "I'll get it open, just stand back!"  
  
There was a blinding light as the dagger cut through the door like it had done for the wall, and Ryou stood right outside the opening. With the door open, we were able to get back out into the open and take a breath of fresh air at last. Bryac smiled, but winced when I accidentally brushed against his back.  
  
"Are you guys alright?" Ryou asked, allowing me to hand Bryac over to someone taller to lean on.  
  
"Do I LOOK alright??" Bryac groaned.  
  
"Bryac got burned." I explained, "We need to get him some help, and fast."  
  
Ryou nodded, "Caitlin went looking for Thina and Yoko, they should be here soon."  
  
I let out a breath of relief, and with Ryou's help; we got far enough away from the Tavern to be able to watch it burn to the ground and still be safe. We had gone out the back way, so endless plains were the only thing we could see, now that it was night again. All the shops on the other side of the tavern either had their lights off, or had very little light still on. Ryou helped me lay Bryac down on his stomach, and the swordsman hissed softly as he got down.  
  
"This isn't good." Ryou said, taking a look at Bryac's back, "It looks like the skin was melted in the fire."  
  
I cringed at the unwanted visual image, and didn't dare look at it with my own eyes. Luckily, that's when I heard footsteps coming our way on the grass. Thina, Yoko, and Caitlin were all running our way. Yoko had a long branch of some sort that she was clutching tightly when she came up. But Caitlin got there first.  
  
"Yugi!" She squeaked happily, grabbing me and giving me a big hug so quickly I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me, "I was so worried you were going to roast in the fire like some sort of oversized chicken! And- Bryac?"  
  
Bryac flinched as she got near, and she was amazingly able to keep the smile on her face for about five whole seconds before looking at his back, then at me, then at Bryac again. That's about when she lost her cool, and before anyone could stop her, she smashed Bryac hard in the head with her foot.  
  
"YOU IDIOT!" She yelled, "You won't let me go in after him because you're afraid I'll get hurt and then THERE YOU GO HURTING YOUR OWN STUPID SELF! Who was supposed to be saving who!"  
  
"It's only a flesh wound!" He protested. "Besides, it's not like you could have done any better!"  
  
"Could so!"  
  
"Yeah right!"  
  
"I COULD!"  
  
"THIS WHOLE THING WAS YOUR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"  
  
Bryac yelled as Caitlin stepped on his head again.  
  
"FOR THE THIRD TIME, IT WASN'T MY FAULT, BAKA!" She shouted.  
  
"Please Caitlin!" Yoko said, pulling her back, "Bryac is in pain!"  
  
"SO AM I!" She shrieked, "WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK I DIDN'T STRANGLE HIM BY NOW!?"  
  
"Please!" Yoko said again, "We can't have too much violence amongst our selves! It isn't a good thing at all! I have a nut that can heal both your wounds."  
  
"Good, hand it over." He grunted.  
  
"Ah ah ah, what about the magic words?" Yoko said with a smile, digging around in her pockets until she found a small walnut looking thing.  
  
"I'm not in the mood, Yoko..." Bryac said threateningly.  
  
"Just say the words, couldn't kill you to-"  
  
"JUST HAND IT OVER YOKO BEFORE I RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"  
  
Yoko took a step back in shock as the hugely overwhelmed Bryac snatched the walnut from her hands and cracked it open. We all looked at each other wide- eyed as Bryac continued to mutter angrily and opened up the walnut enough to gush out something that looked like grape jelly. He rubbed most of it onto his back, by himself (not like he would let anyone get near him) and before long, it looked like he hadn't ever been in a fire.  
  
"Damn." He said, getting up and staring off into the distance, "The fire demon's gone. He's undoubtedly gone to find Yukio by now, and that only makes the current circumstances worse. If only you wouldn't have been stupid and broken the seal."  
  
Caitlin looked at him angrily at first, but then gave in, and said, "Sorry..."  
  
Bryac glared at her, "You should be."  
  
"Bryac-" Thina began.  
  
He interrupted her with an icy gaze, "We have to keep moving. The blood in our drinks, I'm sure the person who put it in there was in league with Yukio. And I wasn't counting on Yukio knowing our whereabouts down to the tavern we were staying in. If we don't keep moving he'll be sure to send his men after us and be happy to chop us to pieces."  
  
He started walking in the opposite direction of the village, and didn't even bother looking behind him to make sure we were following. Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, no one had any idea where we were going or why Bryac felt so up tight all of the sudden. We could only gawk, and then hurry after him with the hopes he knew where he was going.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Retaw- ^_^ So, I had fun writing this chapter. And I'm going to have a TON of fun writing the next DR [Dream Realm] chapter! And that flashback Yugi had wasn't word for word or action for action, I just did my best to remember and write it pretty well.  
  
~ I saw a fic that did this, and I thought it was a good idea so...here is what you should expect in the next chapter ~  
  
IN THE NEXT D.R CHAPTER- The six have been walking for a long time, and Bryac decides (with Yoko's persuasion of course) that they should take a break at a close nightclub, The Drop of Star. But will the stop do more harm than good?  
  
Next Time, 'The Drop of Star'. See you soon!  
  
... -lol- Sorry, I couldn't resist. ^__^  
  
Caitlin- *rolls eyes* You've been watching way too much Inu-Yasha...  
  
SUNC! 


	20. Dear Mr Claus, Please send Food

Retaw- YAYHOO! 26 REVIEWS! *happy dance* YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!  
  
All- *blink* *blink*  
  
Retaw- ^________^ 26, that's more reviews then I've ever got before! Thank you peoples! Wait a minute, 26...that's half of 52. Which means I've almost got half of half of one hundred four reviews!! *sparkly eyes* ...*_*  
  
THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR REVIEWS! THANKIE THANKIE THANKIE!  
  
~*~* YAMI *~*~  
  
It had been about five minutes since the last catastrophe, and Cami was still having a fit about...well...everything. Frankly, he's really gotten on my nerves in the past hour or so, and I was thankful to hear a familiar voice echoing from the front door.  
  
"Hello? Are you guys in there?"  
  
I smiled, and made my way over. I had asked Tea to come over so she could start tutoring us in how to read and write. Although Bakura thought I had invited her over because I liked her, and Cami thought (hoped) I invited her over to do our homework.  
  
"We're over here, Tea." I called to her, "Glad you could come in this weather."  
  
Cami looked a little annoyed as she walked into the living room, and grumbled, "How was she able to just walk in? I REALLY need to work on figuring that lock thing out..."  
  
She shook some of the loose water from her bangs and sighed as she folded up her umbrella. I could tell this was the real Tea. How, I haven't the slightest. It's just something you know I guess. She grinned widely at me.  
  
"No biggie, it's just water right?" She said, plopping down in front of the coffee table and catching view of the broken television set; "What happened to the TV?"  
  
Cami snickered, "Bakura got mad at it. It was actually quite comical after you got over the feeling of shock. Hey Tea, do you know how to cook food? You know, the kind you can eat?"  
  
Tea blinked twice in confusion, "Uh...yes?"  
  
"Great!" Cami said, jumping to his feet, "You're hired, when can you start?"  
  
Tea cocked her head to the side once, and then reached into her purse, "Actually, I did bring some snacks with me..."  
  
Cami's eyes glowed as she pulled out a small bag of Goldfish crackers and shook the it gently as if to prove there was something in the bag.  
  
"MINE!" Cami yelled, diving for the crackers and running off with them leaving Tea completely stunned.  
  
"Is he...always like this?" Tea asked uncertainly as she watched the scribe sit in the far corner of the room and start cackling evilly while eating the little orange fishes.  
  
I sighed, "Depends on his mood."  
  
Cami glared at us, daring the first person to try and take away his food.  
  
Tea shook her head and opened the on the table. It was a history book, filled with tiny characters that I couldn't read at all. You just had to follow the pictures and hope you were getting something out of it. Tea pointed at the first page.  
  
"We'll start studying at the first page of the book, alright?"  
  
Bakura looked up quickly, "What? What's this you're saying?"  
  
"I asked Tea to come and teach us how to read the history book properly." I explained.  
  
Cami stopped chewing, "Aw, she isn't going to do our homework for us?"  
  
"If you don't want to learn, then you don't have to listen." I told them.  
  
Cami and Bakura looked at each other uncertainly for a second, and then as if planned, they both grinned and got up from where they were.  
  
"M'kay." Cami said.  
  
"If you say so, Pharaoh." Bakura called on his way to his room. "I can just make a kid do my work for me."  
  
....  
  
...Well...that didn't go how I hoped it would.  
  
Tea turned to me, "Knowing this would defiantly be helpful..."  
  
I sighed, and got up from the couch, "I'll go talk to them. You wait here, it won't be long."  
  
Tea nodded, and I made my way to go convince the two to learn how to read. Cami would be easy to convince, all I had to do with him was say 'I'm the Pharaoh'. But Bakura I didn't know about. Reluctantly, I knocked on Bakura's door and waited.  
  
No reply.  
  
I knocked again, "Bakura, let me in for a minute."  
  
Still no answer. Growing suspicious, I opened the door myself and found his room completely empty. Where could he be? I saw him go down here. He wouldn't have gone into Cami's room, and there wasn't any other rooms left unless you count--  
  
I stopped, and sprinted to my own master bedroom to make sure everything was all right, but the door wouldn't open. I growled and pounded my fist hard into the door as I heard the soft chuckling of one Egyptian tomb robber coming from inside my extra sized room. I pounded again, hard enough to rattle the pictures on the walls, but it was no use. I was locked out of my own room! He stole my room!  
  
I couldn't help myself, and yelled, "BAKURA!"  
  
****CAMI****  
  
...So...tired...  
  
I had to drag myself out of the Ra forsaken bed this morning to go to that Ra forsaken school with the Ra forsaken teachers who teach Ra forsaken facts that I'm going to get rid of ASAP.  
  
Why won't my aibou come home so everything can be better?  
  
Yami spent almost all hours of the night yelling at Bakura because he had stolen his bedroom from him. Actually, I wish I would have done it, but Bakura beat me to it. If Yami learned anything from Tea last night, I'll be amazed.  
  
I, however, listened to Hooked On Phonics, and learned one, whole, perfect word.  
  
It's called 'Cat'.  
  
I am very proud of myself.  
  
I was so proud last night, I wrote CAT all over my notebooks, so now everyone gives me more weird looks because they think I'm obsessed with cats. I think cats are girly or something...oh well. I'm also hungry, because I was all out of goldfishies when I woke up this morning. I think Yami stole some or something, and someday I WILL find out...just not today.  
  
Today is...school.  
  
I hope you could sense the cringe as I said that.  
  
So far, I have failed everything, had detention twice for no reason (evil teachers, talking is SO not a crime) and have been putting off this sort of aura about myself that tells people I'm either A Gay or B: Insane. I like neither. Are you there, Ra? It's me, Cami.  
  
....Tea read that for me off a book in Caitlin's sister's mom's bookshelf or something.  
  
(boy that's a mouthful)  
  
"Caitlin!"  
  
I jumped from my comfortable almost-sleeping-position. That witch teacher, Mrs. Chrono or something like that, was standing right over me with this evil teachery look.  
  
"Glad to see you're still with us, Miss. Caitlin. Now, would you please do me the honor of reading the next paragraph?"  
  
Ack! She saw my stupid history book! (which was now lying on the ground because I had it over my head when SHE startled me) I quickly turned the pages, like I could actually understand a single word in the book...  
  
...Hey there's CAT!  
  
"Well Miss Caitlin?" She said, pressing on with such a demonic grin on her face that I flinched at the sight of it. "Will you please read the next paragraph now?"  
  
Will I PLEASE? I get a choice? HALLALULIA! I slowly, and very maturely, close my book and stare innocently up at her.  
  
"Actually, Miss Sensei, I'd rather not."  
  
The whole classroom fell deadly silent, and the look on the teacher's face made me feel very nervous. All eyes were on me as the teacher leaned in closer to me.  
  
"You mean to say, you are...just, NOT going to read? Even though I requested that you do so?"  
  
I looked around at all the fellow students in utter shock and amusement. They all acted like I was doing something wrong or something...  
  
"Uh...yeah, I think that's about it." I reply. "I'd rather you ask someone else please."  
  
The teacher was utterly speechless. She only stared at me with her mouth hung slightly open, and the students only gawked in amazement, shock, and respect. Though, I was pretty sure the respect wouldn't last long, sadly. For some reason, something about me is unrespectable. Go figure.  
  
The silence hung in the air for around four more seconds, before the bell again, saved me. I swear, that bell has become my best friend! Just yesterday it saved me from having to tell a cheerleader weather or not I was a girl or boy! Long live the bell!  
  
Chrono snapped out of her daze at the sound of the ringing, and started to say, "Caitlin I--" But it was too late. I was long gone by then, and heading for the lunchroom[1]. I had won! Long live me and the bell!  
  
"Hey, you!"  
  
I stopped mentally celebrating and turned around to face the voice, somehow responding to 'you'. It was a short boy, almost Yugi short but I mean come on, Yugi was a midget. It isn't even fair to compare his height with normal people! The light haired boy clapped me on the shoulder and somehow managed to pull me down to his level so he could talk to me easier.  
  
"Listen, man, you sure gave Chrono a shocker back there! She'll probably suspend you now, but man was it a show while it lasted, dude!" He said with a grin, "I mean, you ARE a guy...right?"  
  
"Oh...uh...yes. My...my dad wanted a girl." I smiled back at him, truly glad I didn't have to pretend to be a girl in front of him, "Anyway, nice talking to you but I've got to go meet up with my friends. I'm starving, we don't have any food in the house, so I'm going to steal something from someone."  
  
"But what about Christmas dinner?" He asked me, "How are you going to celebrate Christmas without food for Christmas dinner?"  
  
I stared blankly back at him, having no clue what he was talking about. He sighed exasperatedly and shook his head.  
  
"What about Chanukah? Kwanza? You don't celebrate any of them?"  
  
I shook my head slowly, and for some reason the kid decided to take it upon himself to explain them. I don't know why he didn't believe me. I mean, I'm thousands of years old and lived in Egypt where we never heard of such things.  
  
"I celebrate Christmas." The boy said with a grin, "I used to live in America before we moved to Japan."  
  
I looked at him, it made sense. He was the only boy with blond hair I had seen at school, save Ryou who's hair was technically whialte, [A/N: NOT PURPLE STEVIE!] and everyone else normal in this facility was dark haired and dark eyed.  
  
The boy continued with a sort of braggy air to his words, "We'd put up a tree and hang ornaments up, and over night 'Santa' would come and give us gifts."  
  
That caught my attention, I turned around quickly to stare at the boy seriously. "So you mean, you just put up a tree and some guy gives you gifts? Just like that? Free stuff?"  
  
The boy looked a little shaken at my sudden interest, but nodded quickly, "Yeah, that's how the story goes..."  
  
"Mortal," I said, "I want to hear more about this, 'Christmas' thing."  
  
*....*......* BAKURA *.....*....*  
  
I decided to go home for lunch, today. I didn't care about walking in the raging rain, as long as I didn't have to spend another second eating with the Pharaoh's perky friends. I slammed the door as I entered the Scribe's pink house and dropped the bag lunch I had taken from some freshman onto the table.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
I paused, turning my head slowly as I recognized the voice coming from the living room. Irritably, I walked into the living room and viola, there was the scribe himself. I instantly regretted coming here, and wished I would have just found some classroom where I could eat in peace. Now I had to be with the Scribe, which was almost as bad as being with Pharaoh-tachi.  
  
"Hi Bakura!" He chirped, turning the music on the radio down a bit, "What are you doing here?"  
  
I took one look around the room and felt my eye twitch. The Scribe had decorated the room around me in happy pictures of little elf like people, and bright red and green colors. With the perky music playing, and the happy drawings, I almost felt like I had gone out of the frying pan and into the fire.  
  
"What is this?" I asked, cringing at the over dose of happy. Pink was one thing, but this was just too much.  
  
"It's Christmas!" Cami said gleefully, "You put up a tree, hang up things, and this big, fat, jolly old man named Santa Claus comes over and gives us free stuff!"  
  
He held up a picture of the man so I could see what he looked like. Cami seemed overjoyed by the whole thing, but I wasn't so opt for it.  
  
"I've been listening to this Christmas music, and I've gathered a large amount of facts so we can get lots of free stuff from this Mr. Claus. It says that he comes at exactly twelve o clock, and that you have to write a letter, which I did."  
  
Again, he held up a piece of paper with hieroglyphics written onto it. It said simply, 'Dear Mr. Claus, please bring food. From, me.' Cami smiled brightly and hugged the letter like a newly found treasure.  
  
"I love this Christmas thing, Bakura. I'm going to wait all night for this Mr. Claus so then I can tell him which food and such. It'll be perfect! I can't wait! Will you wait with me?"  
  
I stared at him for a while, watching in disbelief as he hung a random key- chain onto the branches of a fake plant that was really meant to be a decoration. Cami waited patiently for my answer, but I only turned and muttered, 'I'm going back to school.'  
  
***CAMI AGAIN***  
  
Yami finally dragged me back to school, after finding out from Bakura that I was waiting for Santa Claus to come give me presents. So I had to go through boring old school all day, and wait until afterwards to wait for Mr. Saint Nick. And that's pretty much all I did do.  
  
I just waited and waited.  
  
I even skipped a dinner with everybody at Tea's house because I was afraid to leave my post.  
  
It...was so...boring.  
  
...School was more interesting if that puts it into perspective.  
  
All I could do was sit there, and stare at the clock Joey taught us to read the other day. 10:00 came and went. 11:00, 11:30, 11:55, 12:00, 12:01. That's right, midnight had come and been for a whole minute and the Clause hadn't come at all! I grumbled as I decided to wait a little longer, just in case that song about him coming at midnight was a big bunch of lies.  
  
12:15...This was becoming tedious. Finally, I gave up and sighed deeply. Maybe the American dude was lying the entire time. Maybe it was some great scheme to make a fool of myself in front of no one but myself. Only me, but why? Maybe he wanted ME to see MYSELF make a fool of me so I'd humiliate myself in the process of also find out what a stupid head I am.  
  
....Oh he's crafty...  
  
I got up from the table at 1:30, and feeling a small amount of disappointment, wrote another small note for the bearded man.  
  
'Dear Mr. Clause.' I wrote, 'You are late. This is not very professional of you. I cannot wait for you any longer, and am going to bed. You had better leave twice the amount of presents to make up for your tardy arrival. I still want food. Signed, Me.'  
  
I looked over my work one or two times before folding it and leaving it on the coffee table. Then I retreated to my room, slipped under the covers, and fell asleep in no time flat.  
  
That kid's got some 'splaning to do.  
  
*** NO POV ***  
  
Bakura stood outside on the porch, awaiting the coming of his old friend. It was not long before a figure was seen, making his way down the dimly lit street and holding his umbrella tightly against the strong winds. Bakura smirked slightly as he approached the porch, and jumped when he caught sight of the white haired teen.  
  
"So," Bakura said, "You finally decided to show up."  
  
Malik lowered the umbrella enough to get a good look at Bakura, and he too sneered. "How did you know I was coming?"  
  
Bakura leaned against the side of the house casually, "Instinct I suppose. I could sense your presence in my sleep."  
  
Malik nodded, "And judging by the time I'd guess that's exactly what happened."  
  
"Have you figured out when the mirror is for?"  
  
Malik blinked, and pulled the object from his pocket, "I did, but not as much information as I would have liked."  
  
"Oh?" Bakura said, cocking an eyebrow, "I've waited long enough for an explanation, Malik, so if you would just tell me what you found I'd be grateful."  
  
"First off," Malik spoke, "It is not a mirror at all. Isis and I searched the ancient scriptures and every reference we could come up with that had similar a styling to this piece, and there was no reference to a mirror."  
  
Malik let his words sink into the sound of the rain before continuing, "However, there is one mention to something that might be linked to this. An ancient Indian text mentions the Egyptians to have 'windows to realm of the undead'."  
  
"I don't see what Indians have to do with this." Bakura said, getting a little agitated at the slow pace of the conversation, "The carvings on the back look clearly Egyptian."  
  
"That is true." said Malik, "But in fact, the Indians are the only ones with mention to something like this. I believe that this is only one of the 'windows to the undead' that the Indians spoke of. They, in fact, told of hundreds of windows kept safe in the Pharaoh's palace, and that they were the very beginning to creating ways into the Shadow Realm."  
  
"They mention the Shadow Realm directly?" Bakura asked, "How would they know of something like that?"  
  
"We do not know as of yet." Malik explained, "But they do speak of the Shadow Realm. Apparently, they too tried to enter the Shadow Realm, but could not succeed. In return, they had a beautiful maiden come into the palace, seduce the Pharaoh, and destroy every window in sight. Except..."  
  
Malik touched the mirror like object gently and looked closer at it, as if trying to find out a little more, "Except for this one."  
  
Bakura scoffed, "You believe this is one of the windows that the Indians spoke of?"  
  
Malik looked back up at Bakura, a sudden seriousness growing in his eyes as he nodded, "Yes."  
  
"But you just told me they were destroyed." Bakura protested.  
  
"I said ever window 'in sight' was destroyed." Malik clarified, "By the time they destroyed the windows it was too late, and the Egyptians had already been well on their way to completing their own way to enter the Shadow Realm at will. The Millenium Items, Bakura. With something like that on hand, the Pharaoh wouldn't have needed to look for pieces of the window that survived."  
  
Bakura looked down at the object again, disbelief still lingering as he snatched it back into his own possession.  
  
"It cannot be true." Bakura said defiantly, "If it was, why has no one found something like this in Indian text before?"  
  
Malik looked off into the distance, "That is what I wanted to talk to you about next. Bakura, does...anyone else know you have the mirror? Anyone know that you gave it to me?"  
  
Bakura shook his head, "No one but the Pharaoh and the Scribe, I'm sure. But what's this all about, Malik?"  
  
"It's strange...but on the later on the same day you gave me the 'mirror', Isis uncovered the Indian texts from underneath an old, Indian monument. It seemed almost like someone wanted us to know about the whole thing. Like someone WANTED us to find the Indian text."  
  
**~**~**  
  
Retaw- OK, now I apologize in advance if I somehow screwed something up, because not only am I not an expert in Indian history, but I have not seen all of YuGiOh.  
  
...I know, it's sad.  
  
Retaw- If I messed something up REALLY bad, just bring it up and I'll do my best to fix it. Don't yell at me please! *covers head with hands* It would be a mistake!  
  
I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG IT'S JUST THAT I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH CHRISTMAS AND CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AND CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND MY BIRTHDAY WHICH IS RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!  
  
::Happy Reviewer, please forgive me. *bows repeatedly* You gave me the idea for the chapter, but I couldn't type it up and post it until Christmas Eve.  
  
::Livi, sorry again I hadn't reviewed for a while! Thanks for reviewing my story so much, and I hope you keep reading!  
  
::Kelsey, thanks for the long review! *sniffle* I'm touched you reviewed twice! Yes, the whole nightclub will be better explained in the next chapter.  
  
...I think that's everybody. Well then, HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL! 


	21. The Drop of Star

Retaw- *rubs hands together evilly* Oh I'm going to have soooo much fun with this chapter. }:)  
  
All: *cringe*  
  
Retaw- Actually, I wrote this chapy around four or five months ago. Yes, that was before I even started this story. It was something I saw in my dreams, and I thought it was just too cool to leave only in my thoughts. ^- ^ Hope you enjoy it, cause Ryou, Yugi, Caitlin, Bryac, Yoko, and Thina won't!  
  
All Listed- -__-;;  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
"Master Yukio."  
  
The leader turned from his absentminded staring to glare at the shaking soul behind him. He scoffed when he recognized the speaker as his closest and strongest warrior, the one with the weakest mind and willpower. The only man that Yukio could trust to carry out his orders without thinking. His old 'friend', Hugo.  
  
"What is it, Hugo?" He grumbled, turning back around after finding it unnecessary to even look at the man.  
  
Hugo's hands were shaking as he kept gesturing to the door in desperate attempts to get his point across, "There is--you have--"  
  
"Ah, I see the fire demon has arrived." He replied, still not looking up, "Let him in."  
  
"B-But how did you-""  
  
"He informed me of his coming mentally, around an hour ago in fact. He wants to discuss our joining forces."  
  
"Our...joining forces, sir?"  
  
"That is correct, Hugo, and I, in fact, find it a waste of time to fully explain the reasoning behind my judgement. Just let him in and be at peace."  
  
Hugo gulped before nodding. It was always best to keep the discussions with his master quick and hopefully, painless. Though he was reluctant, Hugo opened the door and immediately, a gust of hot air blew into the room. Papers and random items flew everywhere, but Yukio remained unfazed and calmly awaited the entrance of his guest. A deep laugh caused Hugo to panic, feeling threatened by still not being able to see the demon with his eyes and only hear him, but when he attempted to run Yukio shot him a look.  
  
"Do not move, Hugo." He commanded, "I don't want to risk you insulting our guest."  
  
Hugo stood obediently and deathly still, his instincts still telling him to run. But he listened to his master, as he always would. A blinding flash lit the darkened room, and Yukio smiled as an amazing blast of fire appeared in front of him slowly shaping into a human-like flame.  
  
"Good to see you again, Demon of the Flame." Yukio sneered, "Finally free of the second rate tavern I see."  
  
"I wish not to be reminded of that prison, Yukio." The demon replied gruffly, "I am still met with the humiliation of being set free by one of the Destined Three."  
  
Yukio cocked an eyebrow, "Is that so?"  
  
"It is." The demon answered, "But that is not of importance. My buisness with you will be brief, Yukio. After hearing about your immense gain in power I found in it my best interest to join while I can. I wish to gain the respect and power I lost in the last millennia."  
  
"That, I can help you with." The master said with a smile, "You will not be disappointed, I assure you."  
  
"However," The fire glowed more brightly still, "I will be of no aid in my current form. I cannot hold a sword or touch a human if I do not have bones and skin. I will need a sacrifice of pure human soul to be of any service."  
  
The fiery head turned in the direction of Hugo as he finished, and even Yukio himself seemed ready for what might happen. Hugo flinched as he looked around quickly to find another soul to take, his mind quickly finding that his master may not be as loyal as he himself was. Yukio snickered at Hugo's attempts to save himself, and approached him slowly.  
  
"M-master!" Hugo stuttered, backing away, "Y-You cannot be serious! Would you sacrifice me like this, after all I have done for you?"  
  
"You have done much, Hugo. But I am done with you now." Yukio said icily, "You are no use to me, but I'm sure you will be of use to our friend here."  
  
In an instant, the moment was over. Hugo had no time to react as the flame demon struck out from his casual stance and began to devour the wailing man. Yukio watched from the sidelines, an amused smirk curling upon his white lips. It was all a game of chess to him. He had to sacrifice some for stronger alliances, and he had no problem doing it. Hugo's cries of agony meant nothing to him, and within a few short moments, the warrior was dead, and in his place, stood a new human soul. A stronger soul.  
  
A new 'friend'.  
  
~** CAITLIN **~  
  
It's one of those moments when you wake up expecting to find yourself in one place, and find yourself in quite another. I hadn't even realized I fell asleep before I was waking up again on somebody's back. I almost panicked when I couldn't feel my warm sheets and soft bed below me, and see instead...white. I was about to scream, afraid I had gone blind, when I realized I just had my face in Ryou's hair.  
  
[A/N: Any Ryou fangirl wishing they were in that position right now? Come on, I know you are. ^_~]  
  
"So, you finally decided to wake up."  
  
I blinked a few times and turned to the speaker, who was Bryac walking right next to us with that same blank expression on his face.  
  
Ugh. How I hoped I'd wake up to find he was just a bad dream.  
  
Ryou looked up at me and smiled, and I suddenly felt guilty for making him...my horse or something. So I took it upon myself to get down, and hissed a little when I found out my feet had fallen asleep during the journey.  
  
"How long have I been sleeping?" I asked, stretching my arms a little, "I don't even remember falling asleep."  
  
Bryac snorted, "You didn't."  
  
"You collapsed from lack of energy about an hour ago." Yoko explained, "It makes sense, really, you haven't' had anything to eat since we got here."  
  
I cocked my head to the side, "You mean even you dead people have to eat too?"  
  
Yoko nodded, "For energy purposes only. The food we eat gets turned completely into energy, so we don't have to eat as much or sleep as much. Or go to the bathroom if you haven't noticed."  
  
...Yeah, I did notice that. But I was trying to ignore it.  
  
"Why haven't Yugi and Ryou collapsed then?" I asked.  
  
"Because you're a weakling." Bryac muttered.  
  
"No, that's not it." Yoko quickly said, obviously noticing the look on my face, "I know that Ryou is bonding with the power in his dagger, so that might be giving him his energy. And Yugi has gone to the Shadow Realm many times before, and is slightly used to the energy affects even though he doesn't realize it."  
  
"Bryac," Thina said softly, "We will have to find a food source for those three soon, or they might not be able to go on."  
  
Bryac shook his head, "They'll just have to tough it out. The only place to get food around here is the 'Drop of Star', and I don't feel like taking that sort of a risk."  
  
"But Bryac, I think you're being a little unreasonable." Yoko pressed on, "We all need food and water, why can't we just stop for a little while? I'm sure it couldn't hurt."  
  
"No." Bryac answered firmly, "Yukio's men are probably swarming around there, and I'm still not positive who he has been about to wrangle over to his side yet. Anyone could be an enemy."  
  
"But isn't there someone at that place that spy's on Yukio for us?" said Yoko, "Notis or something?"  
  
Bryac thought about this for a moment, then he let out a long exasperated sigh, "Fine. We can go there for a short stop. I think it's a terrible idea, but at least we can get some information out of this trip."  
  
Yoko giggled, "Thank you, Bryac."  
  
He shook his head, as if scolding himself for being such a 'nice guy', "Now listen closely. I don't want any of you to talk to anyone there. Keep your Destiny Items close and well hidden, because the slight glimmer of gold could be our downfall. Be careful about everything and do not draw attention to yourself. Got it?"  
  
"Yes, Bryac." We all chorused.  
  
"Then follow me, it's about a ten minute walk from here." He ordered, "Don't fall behind."  
  
I smiled at Yoko as a thank-you for convincing Bryac to let us get food. She gave me a thumbs up in return, and we started to jog after Bryac through the dark woods. At almost exactly ten minutes, I saw a bright light ahead through the thick trees, and faintly heard the soft sound of music playing in the wind.  
  
*** RYOU ***  
  
"We're here." Bryac whispered to us, "Now act normal, and remember what we talked about earlier. And stay close, in case we have to leave quickly and quietly."  
  
We all nodded, then pushed our way through the trees and bushes to a brightly-lit hut. I blinked a few times, making sure I was seeing what was real. Frankly, I wasn't expecting something tiny like that when Bryac and Yoko talked about the 'Drop of Star'. Yugi and I exchanged looks, but Bryac seemed completely fine with the whole thing. They both walked up casually to the entrance of the hut, and a mousy looking guy looked them over a little bit before letting them inside. Thina gave us a little push, and Yugi was first to go in after them.  
  
He walked slowly and took numerous hesitant glances at the man standing there. I couldn't blame him, really, noticing the way the little man was watching Yugi. His light yellow eyes captured his every move, and he seemed very suspicious of Yugi. Finally, he was inside, and it was Caitlin's turn. She was quite the opposite of Ryou, going in quickly and not making eye contact with the man.  
  
And then, it was my turn. I couldn't decide which way was better, Yugi's or Caitlin's, so I just went in as normally as I possibly could. My heart beat unusually faster when I started to pass the guy, and just when I thought I was fine I felt his cold hand grab me by the neck.  
  
"Hold it." He growled, a voice much lower then what I expected from someone his size, "You're not from here are you...?"  
  
I mentally whimpered as the man gruffly yanked me down to his eye level, and looked me over closely. Then his hand touched something on my chest that made him stop. Something hidden safely under my shirt. My Millenium Ring. Panicking, I pulled myself away from the man.  
  
It was a mistake.  
  
I heard a deafening shriek and watched in disbelief as the small man's face transformed into the face of a hideous monster. It's skin was clear enough to see every single vein and bone in his body, and he resembled something like a praying mantis and a snake. I backed away from the angry beast, and being frozen in fear, watched wide-eyed as it readied itself to attack. I was sure I was going to be dinner any second.  
  
But thankfully, out of nowhere, a sword swooshed out and pointed dangerously at the creature, right between the eyes. The monster growled angrily as it's line of vision shifted to stare at the attacker. And there stood Bryac, holding his golden sword in front of the beast, as if wordlessly threatening it to move at all.  
  
"I thought I told you to lay low." He muttered to me.  
  
"Do not test me, Soh Bryac." The monster said, voice harsh and deeper then before, "He is not one of us."  
  
"He is my guest." Bryac told him, "Lay a hand on him again, and you'll leave me no other choice but to kill you."  
  
Another angry growl from the monster was the response, but the man did turn back into his past form and allowed me in. Bryac was satisfied by this, and slid his sword back into it's sheath. He jerked his head a little in the opposite direction and I followed after him, immensely relieved that I was still alive.  
  
"You know, you could have killed him." Bryac said, "You know how to use the dagger properly now."  
  
"I guess so..." I answered, "But I still don't feel comfortable killing people."  
  
"Ryou, I might not be there when you get in trouble like that again. He would have killed you, you know, and I think it's time you learned that life is more important then guilt. Besides, he wasn't human when you saw him."  
  
"Speaking of that," I said, "Why does it seem everyone I meet doesn't like staying the same form for more then a few minutes."  
  
Bryac laughed dryly, "They get bored I suppose. Eternity is an awful long time to spend as the same thing."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Suddenly, I froze. I was expecting the hut to be as small as it looked from the outside, but...the inside was breathtaking! Tractor sized chandeliers hung from the ceiling, dripping in diamonds and sparkling gently when hit by the warm light. It was as long as a football field, and filled with ladies and gentlemen dressed in only the most formal attire. There was a string quartet playing, a long silver table covered in delicious looking food, and as I looked down the marble staircase I only just realized I was on, I could see a number of people waltzing to the music below us.  
  
Everything was perfect.  
  
Bryac smirked, "You look surprised."  
  
"Well, when you mentioned a night club I was expecting...anything but this."  
  
"The definition of night club here is quite different then yours. If it opens at night, and has music, then it's a night club."  
  
I laughed meekly, completely stunned by my surroundings. That's when my eye caught the other small group standing on the stairs. Caitlin, Yugi, Thina, and Yoko were waving us over to them, and everyone stood in complete silence for a while.  
  
Caitlin was first to speak, almost to the point of hyper-ventilating while she said, "Wait a second...this...this isn't what I was wearing!"  
  
That's when I noticed something I had not seen before. Everyone had...changed.  
  
Caitlin's hair was up in a very complicated looking style, and she wore a long, powder blue dress that poofed out and much resembled what Cinderella would have worn to the ball. Yoko was wearing a similar gown, but it was light pink and didn't have the white gloves. Thina wore a simple white dress. And even though there was nothing special about it, she seemed to fit in it more then in a poofy dress.  
  
Yugi looked amusingly out of place in his formal suite. His hair went completely against the colors and the style, and even the hat he wore wouldn't hide it. Bryac fit much better in his dark, navy blue apparel, but he instantly discarded his hat. I almost fainted when I saw how stupid I looked.  
  
[A/N: I don't know how to describe his outfit, just think 'William Turner' from 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.]  
  
"Aw!" Yoko exclaimed, clapping her hands and grinning, "Look how cute you all are!"  
  
I felt myself blush at her comment, already pretty humiliated.  
  
"What is this place?" Yugi asked.  
  
"The Drop of Star." Bryac said, as if it was an obvious answer, "Every type of music you could dream of, and it's always changing. It never looks the same."  
  
"It's kind of creepy." Yugi commented, "I don't like being changed around like that..."  
  
"Well you'd better get used to it." said Bryac, "Things are always changing around here."  
  
"Well, I'm going to get something to eat." Yoko announced with a little wave, "I'll be back later!"  
  
Bryac nodded, and then his eyes grazed the room, "I'm going to go find Notis. Try not to do anything stupid."  
  
I assumed he was talking to Yugi, Caitlin and me, even though he didn't look our way. He then left, without so much as a 'bye' or an 'I'll find you in ten minutes'. I was starting to feel overwhelmed again, and very out of place.  
  
"So what do we do now?" I asked them.  
  
No answer. They only looked around, obviously feeling the same I did. Finding I wouldn't get an answer, I sighed and walked down to the long buffet table. I felt a little bad for leaving them there, but I was getting really hungry.  
  
I walked nervously up to the buffet table and started to wonder, 'Do I have to pay or something?' Feeling very uneasy, I looked around for Yoko who was supposed to have been getting food as well, but she wasn't there. I looked around the room, but I couldn't find her anywhere.  
  
Where was she?  
  
*** CAITLIN AGAIN ***  
  
Ok...so Ryou's gone now too. Dang it! I could have followed him if he didn't look exactly like every other guy in this room. I turned to Yugi, and he just shrugged. I let out a long, exasperated sigh.  
  
This was not my day.  
  
Oh, and you know what happened next? Yugi was taken captive! By a random girl! Ok, maybe not captive like the way you see it, but she just came right up, grabbed his hand, told him he was cute, and asked for a dance.  
  
Just close your eyes and try and picture Yugi at that moment. By how much you should know about him, he doesn't get asked to dance a lot by a girl two and a half feet taller then he was.  
  
So assumedly, Yugi only grinned at me and then left me there like the others.  
  
...Does he even know how to waltz?  
  
Probably not, I would stay and watch but I'm feeling a little left out at the moment. And where did Thina go? I swear I saw her a second ago and then 'Pop' she was gone! Oh yes, I'm getting very agitated right now. I'm going to get some punch. And--oh wait...  
  
...blast...Yugi does know how to waltz. Figures.  
  
"So are you going to just stand there the entire evening?"  
  
I spun around quickly to be staring at Yoko. How come everyone is so good at popping up at random moments here? I scowl at her for scaring me like that, but cross my arms and reply, "If I feel like it."  
  
"Well, you might as well go do something before we have to leave. You won't be coming back, after-all."  
  
I half nodded, but then I remembered something strange; "Weren't you getting something to eat or something?"  
  
I hesitated at first, which confused me, but then smiled and said, "They don't have anything over there that I like. And I'm not that hungry after all. So why don't you get out there and dance?"  
  
I could tell she was changing the subject, but I decided to let her slide on that one. I guess it's her own business what she was doing over there. Watching wistfully from the staircase wasn't very fun, I have to admit, but I didn't have anyone to dance with anyway.  
  
"You should just get out and try it." Yoko chimed, "Carpe diem! Yugi's enjoying himself."  
  
Suddenly, the song ended, and the entire room started to change. The room went from a spotless white to a deep green with pale yellow trim. The lights changed from formal to almost Caribbean looking, and even the instruments the musicians were playing changed to match the new Reggae style. Even everyone's outfit in the room changed, and I felt like I was in a completely different place. Yoko only laughed at me.  
  
"Calm down, it's not that spooky." She said, "On the bright side, are you able to dance to this style of music instead?"  
  
I narrowed my eyes at her, fighting back the urge to ask why she wanted me to dance so much. "Why don't you dance instead. I'd rather not make a fool of myself thank you."  
  
She tugged on my arm like a child would, "Oh come on! It'll be fun!"  
  
And just like that, she shoved me out onto the dance floor and made me tumble into the group of perfectly timed dancers. I started to panic as everyone but me kept dancing, and panicked even more when I saw there were no open partners to dance with in the group.  
  
What was I supposed to do, dance with myself!?  
  
So, naturally, I ran as fast as I could to the safety of the punch bowl. I was the only one there, thankfully, so I didn't need to explain my sudden mad dash to refuge. Taking a deep breath, I calmed down enough to something to drink and curse Yoko with her eternal perkiness. I would glare at her, but guess what? She wasn't where I saw her last!  
  
...Yeah, big surprise, right?  
  
I rolled my eyes at myself for being ignorant enough to loose her again, but grabbed a tough bread to gnaw on that calmed my nerves a bit. I was starting to not like this place. Well, at least I wasn't bored. The room changed around four more times while I was standing there watching. I think it had changed from Reggae to Jazz to The 70s to Salsa (which it was now.)  
  
I hate to say Bryac and Yoko were right, but...Bryac and Yoko were right. I had grown accustomed to the changes in scenery, and even grown to find it amusing over time. But I couldn't help wondering where everyone else was. They all seemed to have disappeared in the last few minutes, and it made me feel uneasy. Where could they be? Did they leave without me or something?  
  
"Excuse me, Miss, but what are you playing with?"  
  
I jumped at hearing the voice behind me, jumped again when I realized that I had been absentmindedly fidgeting with my amulet under my shirt, and then jumped a third time when I saw the guy who had spoken to me. He had dark, long brown hair that fell in his face just enough to give him an excuse to shake it out of his eyes every once in a while. He had a perfect muscular body, and even this award winning smile that he was giving me right now.  
  
I've never felt like I could melt at the sight of a guy before, but he was an exception.  
  
I mean, he was like, godly hot! Not 'drool over' hot, or 'Oozing out of every pore' hot, 'GODLY' hot. The real package. And he called me miss! I feel special.  
  
"I've never seen something like that before. May I ask where you got it?" He inquired, "But I don't mean to be nosy or anything..."  
  
Crackers. Caught in a pickle. Start friendly conversation with godly hot dude? Or listen to Bryac, who had been getting on my nerves lately, and doesn't understand the appreciation of cute guys .  
  
...Oh wait, that gave me a bad mental image, I'm going to change that. Bryac SHOULD NOT understand the appreciation of cute guys.  
  
The stranger just looked at me warmly as I stood there, desperately trying to come up with what to say. I couldn't decide at first, and opened my mouth only praying that something would come out automatically. Nothing came, so I ended up looking really stupid.  
  
"You don't have to answer if you don't want." He told me, voice smooth and calm, "I was just asking."  
  
"A-Alright." I said, feeling a huge wave of relief come over me. "It's not that I wouldn't like to tell you, it's just, complicated."  
  
I tucked the amulet away, and he looked somewhat disappointed.  
  
"Oh," He said, "Ok then. Well, I guess I'll just have to see you some other time then?"  
  
WHAT!? NOOOOHOHO! He started to walk away, suddenly not interested at all in what I had to say. I didn't want to be alone again, so I walked after him and grabbed his shoulder to keep him back. Him leaving had surprised me, but what he did after I grabbed him surprised me even more.  
  
He turned and stared straight at me, his gentle smile replaced with a threatening smirk. It was the first time I noticed his blood red eyes, and slight fang tooth in his grin. He didn't look innocent anymore, or like a nice guy to meet. He looked, almost evil. Something was going on that I didn't like.  
  
"Look here," He ordered, suddenly pulling out a long scarf from almost nowhere and twirling it around with his finger, "I want you to watch this. It's a scarf from the Nightmare Realm. I'm sure you know about that place by now, do you not?"  
  
I didn't want to look at it, but something about it drew me in. The scarf flowed so gracefully, and was filled with breathtaking colors, most of which I didn't know existed. I squinted closely at the object, not able to look up from its constant twirling. Twirling...twirling...  
  
The scarf started to move faster and faster, and almost made me forget where I was. It was so inviting, that I couldn't help reach out to touch the scarf. I was about to get closer when the graceful movements of the fabric froze completely. It erupted into flames and the sound of screams snapped me back to reality.  
  
At least two hundred men charged through the entrance, all armed with maces or long swords and dressed in thick armor that covered every part of them but their eyes. Stunned, I watched as they began to kill off anyone in their way and knock over tables. It became obvious what they were doing. They had to be looking for something.  
  
Looking for us.  
  
"I have to get out of here." I murmured.  
  
I took a step forward and hot hands grabbed me from behind, holding tight over my mouth and arms. I tried to scream, but all that came out was muffled. My heart lurched as I heard the voice of the dark haired boy whispering in my ear. "Oh no no no, young one. You're going to do no such thing. Twice I've fooled you into taking my bait, Destined one, and this time, I'm not letting you get away that easily." He sneered, "You're coming with me."  
  
His grip tightened and I started to struggle, knowing that my life depended on it. But nothing did any good, he was just too strong. Suddenly, through all the chaos that was going on in front of me, I briefly caught sight of someone that could help me.  
  
It was Yugi.  
  
He started back at me for a moment, unsure of what was going on, but when the guy started to drag me away he finally got the hint that I was in trouble. I kicked and wriggled and did everything I thought possible to stall the guy into dragging me away, but it still wasn't working. I saw Yugi doing his best to push through the crowd after me to help, but he wasn't fast enough and most people almost trampled him in their hysteria. Before I knew it Yugi had disappeared completely, and I was being dragged outside away from where the men were attacking.  
  
Could it have been a distraction?  
  
"Calm down, you." Said the gruff voice of one whom I formally thought was hot, "Hold still while I--"  
  
He never finished his sentence, and I only saw the night sky above me for a brief moment before he had covered my eyes with one of his long scarves. I was itchy and clung to my nose when I tried to take a breath, which made breathing very difficult. I felt my hands and arms being tied next, secretly wondering where he got all of the scarves to do that, and how they were strong enough to act like rope.  
  
"LET ME GO YOU BAKA!" I shouted. "YOU ARE *SO* GOING TO PAY FOR THIS WHEN I GET FREE! YOU AHOU!"  
  
He didn't answer me, or take any head to my warnings. I just heard him chuckle at my screaming, and then felt myself being picked up and carried somewhere. I didn't know if I felt comfortable being carried by an evil dude when I couldn't see. And it was at least an hour of just cussing the living daylights out of the guy before I was dropped onto the hard ground. He just dropped me on my butt like I was an inanimate object or something!  
  
What, was he going to leave me?  
  
He wouldn't dare...  
  
"Stay put."  
  
Ok, so he's still there. Wait a minute, stay put? That makes top ten in the 'most idiotic things said by people who tried to kill me' list. Does he expect me to wriggle away like an inch worm? Oh yeah, that'll get me real far, considering I can't SEE! I wanted to yell at him again, but he had already run off somewhere and I couldn't' hear his footsteps anymore.  
  
Great, now I'm alone.  
  
"Well well well, we have picked up a little package along the way." A new voice laughed.  
  
Great, now I'm not alone.  
  
"Who are you?!" I barked at the person, trying to act brave but starting to freak out.  
  
There was a moment of silence, and then I heard the new person mutter something under his breath. Did I say something wrong?  
  
"What? A female?"  
  
I couldn't help it, I just had to say it, "Chyah."  
  
The new person took a deep breath and pulled the scarf out of my face. I looked helplessly up at him, and his skin began to go beet red. His eyes widened, and he turned swiftly around to glare at the person behind him, who was the guy formally known as 'godly hot'.  
  
"Demon, you didn't tell me it was a girl!" He hissed.  
  
The Demon took a step back, obviously getting nervous but keeping it inside, "I did not think it mattered."  
  
"Of course it matters! A Joshikousei[1] cannot do us any good in battle!"  
  
I found that very offensive, "Hey! I--"  
  
"Shizuka ni shire, shoujo[2]!" He shouted at me, face getting redder as he yelled.  
  
Apparently, I had screwed up his plans. And also apparently, he spoke Japanese. I spit on the ground to get out some of my growing anger, but gathered up enough defiant confidence to ask, "Who are you?"  
  
The man stopped, and turned slowly to stare at me. "You do not know who you are speaking to?"  
  
I found it queer that he acted like I should know him by now. I looked over him again, trying to see if he was anything that would be worth remembering. He had dark hair that looked similar to the demon, and flashing green eyes with even a touch of yellow in them. He was taller then I was, but shorter then a normal guy his age would be. He saw I didn't know him, and nodded.  
  
"Naruhodo. Watashi wa Yukio-sama.[3]"  
  
I blinked a few times in disbelief, then more anger poured in, "Omae![4] YOU are Yukio!?"  
  
He smiled with false pleasure that I knew who he was, "I am, meiwaku otome. And I do think you have something that rightly belongs to me."  
  
"And what would that be?"  
  
He grinned wider still, and gestured for his demon friend to come closer, "Oh, many things. You have the information I need on your companions, your friend has a dagger that belongs to me, and you have an item that belongs to me hanging around your neck."  
  
"Then why don't you take it?" I growled.  
  
Yukio looked surprised at first, but then he cocked an eyebrow my way and said, "No. That would be far to easy. First, I need the information on the location of your friends. Where are they hiding, tenshi?"  
  
I held strong and only glared at them, refusing to answer. Yukio twirled his hand around in air nonchalantly.  
  
"Fine then, have it your way." He said, nodding to the Demon next to him.  
  
The demon grinned sadistically, and approached me drawing out a sword. He circled me a few times, but stopped when he was right behind me. I took a quick breath of air as I felt the icy cold steal of his sword skim the back of my neck. He chuckled darkly as half my hair fell to the ground, and the shallow cut across the back of my neck began to bleed. I felt his finger run across the cut, and the demon walked back into view so he could show me the horrific sight of my own blood on his finger clearly. I cringed as he slowly licked his finger clean, and then shed a demonic smile my way.  
  
'They are only trying to freak me out.' I assured myself, 'I can't let them get to me. I couldn't let them win. I had to stand strong.'  
  
"Are you ready to talk?" Yukio asked me, prodding my back with his boot.  
  
I shut my eyes and shook my head, 'No.' Yukio didn't sound happy with my answer, and hit me again, this time harder.  
  
"Talk, girl, or will I have to rip the answers out of you!?" He shouted.  
  
I didn't move, half afraid he was going to hurt me and half afraid I could injure my neck more by trying to move it. Finally, Yukio let me have it.  
  
"Lock her in the carriage. Give her no food or water until she talks." He snapped to the demon."  
  
"Wait, Yukio." The demon said, "Do not be rash. You need all three of the Destined for the ceremony to work, yes?"  
  
I opened my eyes to see the reaction, and Yukio didn't seem to know where this was going. He nodded uncertainly, his eyes narrowed out of habit.  
  
"That is true."  
  
"But you choose to lock her up? What does that solve?"  
  
Again, Yukio was clueless with the direction, "It teaches her not to talk back to her superiors, not to defy me, and not to be stubborn. And it gets us the answer we will be needing to get the remaining two."  
  
"True, that would do some good to our mission. We could do that..." The demon said quietly, "Or we could put even better use to this girl here."  
  
I pulled my head away as the demon touched my cheek, but Yukio smiled at the display and leaned in closer.  
  
"What did you have in mind?"  
  
*-*-*-*-*  
  
Retaw- ^^; A little late on the chapter update, but, you know how these things go. I re-read my story the other day and I realized how much of a role I've given to Caitlin. It might be a little too much, so this time around I'm giving Yugi and Ryou more of a part and making Caitlin a damsel in distress.  
  
Retaw- *glance* It took a lot of persuasion, and a LOT of candy for her to agree to that.  
  
Caitlin- ^-^ *munching on candy*  
  
Retaw- Hopefully, there is going to be more Yugi and Ryou, ok?  
  
-&-&-&-&-&-  
  
[1] Joshikousei- Female Highschool student  
  
[2] Shizuka ni shire, shoujo!- Shut up girl!  
  
[3] Naruhodo. Watashi wa, Yukio-sama.- I see. My name is Yukio.  
  
[4] Omae- You  
  
[5] Meiwaku Omae- Pesky maiden.  
  
SUNC!! 


	22. Playing Hockey

Retaw- *doing the 'more than thirty reviews and not one flame' dance* ^_____^  
  
Retaw- THANKIES FOR THE REVIEWS! I HAVEN'T EVER EVEN GOTTEN CLOSE TO THIS MANY BEFORE! YAYNESS! *bouncing up and down*  
  
All- -__-;;  
  
Retaw- ^-^ You know, there isn't anything better then going to my e-mail and seeing that big happy, 'You Have One (ect.) New Message' on it. Review alerts rule!  
  
Retaw- *sniffle* But seriously, you all have been great. I've never been so flattered by your responses, and it's a lot of fun to see where you guys think the story will go or how you feel about the situation I've put the characters in. Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to mention one thing to all of my readers.  
  
ONE THING: I've got this whole story planned out, I wrote down all the chapters in my notebook and so everything is set. From here on it, everything should be pretty interesting, because it's coming to the end. There are only going to be one or two parts with a teeny bit of romance, and there are going to be a few parts with angst in them, so it'll be pretty interesting all in all. ^-^ I love end sections.  
  
Caitlin- *eye roll* Coming to an end? You said there was at least nine chapters left in the 'Dream Realm' series.  
  
Retaw- That IS coming to the end. Now, onto the story!  
  
*********  
  
The first thing I saw was the horrid pink walls of my room when I woke up this morning.  
  
The first thing I felt was my stomach aching from no food for so long.  
  
The first thing I smelt was something burning. And things burning are never good.  
  
So I rolled myself out of bed and walked into the kitchen, where the smell was coming from.  
  
That's when I saw it.  
  
As if this wasn't a bad enough morning already, there, sitting at the table eating something that looked very overcooked, was my worst enemy, and my second worst enemy. I growled as they both looked up at me, and Malik smiled to the best of his abilities.  
  
"So, you finally decided to grace us with your presence?" He joked, somewhat uncomfortably.  
  
I snorted, and leaned against the wall. "I don't believe I invited you into the house, Malik."  
  
"That's right." Bakura cut in, "I invited him. If you don't remember, Pharaoh, he is the only one who has any idea what this item is."  
  
He picked the mirror looking object up off the table and flashed it in the morning sunlight. Malik gave me a sort of triumphant look before returning his gaze on the paper in front of him that he had drawn up. Cami poked his head out from his station at the oven and grinned at me.  
  
"I'm making eggs!" He said happily, "Would you believe that the other end of that white thing...what's it called?"  
  
"Fridge." Malik grunted, making it clear to me that he had said it many times before.  
  
"Yes! Fridge. Anyway, would you believe that you could open the other side of it? There is two sections on it! The cold side, and the REALLY cold side. And there was food in the cold side! Eggs! Malik taught me how to make them!"  
  
He moved back enough so I could get a look at the black lumps in the pan that he called 'eggs'. I wrinkled my nose at the sight of them, and made a mental note never to let Cami cook again. Cami grinned broadly, adjusted his magenta apron, and continuing with his cooking, leaving me to with nothing left to do then find out what Malik and Bakura were talking about. Neither of them looked up at all, and they spoke in hushed voices the entire time. I went over to the table Bakura and Malik were talking at, and sat down, hoping they would continue to speak and I would figure out what they were talking of in time. It didn't happen. Instead, they just stared at me.  
  
"What is it?" Bakura asked roughly.  
  
"I just wanted to know what was going on. What have I missed that's important?"  
  
Malik and Bakura briefly exchanged looks, and then again, they stared at me. Then Bakura closed his eyes and crossed his arms nonchalantly saying, 'Sorry, Pharaoh, but you missed that little convo. We're moving on now, so either try to keep up or leave."  
  
I felt very insulted by his response, but decided to stay anyway. If the tomb robber knew something important, then I had to know what it was.  
  
"So anyway, we just need to find out how to activate this thing. If we can do that, we will be able to find out everything it can do with ease." Malik explained, "I've done everything I can think of, and nothing seems to have worked. Any ideas, Bakura?"  
  
Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as a large place of 'eggs' was placed in front of us. The smoke coming from the dish wasn't very appetizing, and no one knew what to make of the food. I made note that both Bakura and Malik's plates of eggs were untouched.  
  
"Well come on and dig in!" Cami said happily.  
  
Everyone eyed the meal uncertiantly, and Cami's face faultered.  
  
"You...don't like it?" He asked, already looking hurt though he hadn't answered.  
  
"Oh no," I said quickly, "I'm just not hungry."  
  
My stomach growled loudly as if in protest to my excuse, but Cami didn't notice it and looked unusually perky again.  
  
"Oh good!" Cami chirped, "Because you know, I slaved over a hot stove all morning to make these for you."  
  
Malik cocked an eyebrow, "I thought you were a scribe."  
  
Cami nodded, "I am."  
  
"Aren't scribe's supposed to be humble?" Malik pointed out.  
  
I shook my head, "Not him. He's never been humble. In fact, he re-named himself Cami when he started making himself known."  
  
Malik looked again at the scribe, who was turning a bright red at the comment and whining, "How many times do I have to tell you people! Cami's a good name! And the whole thing about meaning God in Japanese is just a coincidence! It's not my fault!"  
  
I only listened to Cami's whining for a moment before I realized what time it was. We were supposed to be at school two hours ago!  
  
"We're late for school!" I exclaimed, raising to my feet.  
  
Cami pushed me back down into my seat, "Calm down, Yami, today we're playing hockey."  
  
"Hooky." Malik corrected.  
  
Again, I jumped to my feet, "What!? We can't do that, our aibou's are counting on us to go to school for them!"  
  
"They're also counting on you not starving to death before they get back." Malik said, "We're going to be taking a trip to the grocery store today and stock up that pantry."  
  
"Besides," Bakura added, "We're failing the courses anyway. We're probably doing more harm then good being there."  
  
"B-But--" I stuttered desperately trying to find a really good reason to go to school, "B-but we--"  
  
Malik looked at his watch and groaned, "I'd really rather not do this, so we're going to though it as quickly as possible. We'd better leave now, better to get it over with."  
  
"M'kay!" Cami said, way more bouncy then any human should be before ten in the morning. "So where's the Grocery Store?"  
  
Malik got up and started to make his way outside, "It's only a block or so away, you all can walk."  
  
Cami raised his hand, "I wanna take the motorcycle with you!"  
  
Malik hesitated, "I...didn't bring my motorcycle this time."  
  
Cami stopped and gave him the evil eye, "Yes you did, Malik, I saw you."  
  
Malik looked like he REALLY didn't want to take him, but had no choice. I felt a small amount of pity for the guy.  
  
...but it went away very quickly when I remembered that this jerk tried to take over the world once and that he deserved it.  
  
"Fine." Malik said, finally caving in, "Come on and keep quiet."  
  
Cami smiled, turned to us, and then stuck his tongue out. I would have rather walked anyway, even if the ride had been one of my choices. Bakura seemed to think the same by his expression. Malik was halfway out the door when he popped his head and looked at us.  
  
"You're sure you don't mind walking?" He said, in an obvious last plea for sanity. "I'm sure Cami could go with you instead if you--"  
  
"Don't be silly, Malik." I said, looking up mockingly at him seeing another chance for revenge, "You go ahead, and we'll be there in a little while."  
  
Malik's face fell as his last plan crumbled to the ground. Cami cheered, and yanked Malik out the door. I smiled, replaying his disappointment over and over in my mind as Bakura and I began to walk to the grocery store.  
  
It had been a while since Malik had failed in taking over the world, and Tea told me a many number of times that I was being silly by not forgiving him. But what she didn't understand, was that people don't automatically gain my trust. They have to earn it. I've lived through too many mistakes where I thought I could trust a person and they've betrayed me. I didn't care if Malik pledged to his new start at life, or that he would leave the world as it was, or that he would never use the powers of the rod again. He had lost my trust when he first met me, and it wouldn't be easy for him to get it back. Hell, Bakura only gained my trust back recently, and it wasn't much trust at that.  
  
Thunder sounded and a few of the street lights flickered as we started our journey to the store. Luckily, we were under the safety of an umbrella we had found a few days ago under the couch. I sighed as the cold rain met my skin, and again, wished for the day my hikari would return.  
  
"The rain hasn't stopped since the day we moved into that accursed pink house." Bakura muttered, staring off in the distance at a bolt of lighting.  
  
I didn't have much to say to that comment. In truth, that's where my mind has been for the past while. It didn't make sense that it would rain this much. And even if those imposters were behind it, why? Were was the pay off? What would you get by creating storms besides wet? I didn't respond to Bakura, and he didn't mind. I think it was just a way of telling me that's what's been on his mind that past few days as well.  
  
We walked in complete silence the entire way, occupied by our own thoughts and not feeling the need to share them. It took us about a half hour to finally get to the store where Malik's motorcycle was parked in front of. We found him sitting on a bench, head in his hands, rubbing his temples.  
  
"So," Bakura said with a slight smirk, "How was the ride?"  
  
Malik looked up at the Tomb Robber and scowled muttering, "He screamed his whole head off the ENTIRE time. THE ENTIRE TIME, thankyou."  
  
Bakura snickered, "Pity."  
  
Cami, (who had been entertaining himself by hitting the gum machine to see if he could get anything out of it) looked up at us and said, "Are you talking about me?"  
  
There was a beat, seeing as no one cared to answer that. Then we just got up and started to walk into the grocery store without saying anything. Cami was slightly confused about the whole thing. I guess he just isn't used to reading 'body language' and following our lead, because he cocked his head and shouted to us, "Are we going in now?"  
  
"Yes, Cami, we're going in." I replied.  
  
This earned me a few dirty looks from Malik and Bakura. I crossed my arms solemnly as Cami came up behind us, knowing now that they were hoping he'd just stand out there and wait. Cami was oblivious to the entire thing, and even began to skip ahead of us.  
  
That earned me an even dirtier look from both of them.  
  
"We couldn't just leave him behind." I said defensively.  
  
They both rolled their eyes, but decided to just get going with our errands. Malik grabbed a shopping cart, and immediately started filling it with pretty much anything we passed. He'd tell us what he was picking up as he dropped it in the cart, but he said it so quickly and mumbly that I could only pick out a few words at a time. Apparently, he had done this a many number of times before.  
  
"You're going to need this," He mumbled, "It's tooth paste for after you eat. And here you have a flashlight in case the power goes out. We'll get some milk for your breakfast (so you can avoid cooking at all costs) and some bread for lunch sandwiches."  
  
"What about this?" Cami said, holding up a box of something, "How do you eat this stuff?"  
  
Malik looked at it and announced dully, "That's cereal. You put milk on it in a bowl, pour milk on top, and voila! You have breakfast."  
  
Cami was amazed, "That's so cool, let's get lots of these ^-^!"  
  
Before anyone could respond, Cami had dashed off and came back a half an instant later with at least twenty boxes of cereal in his arms. All of which containing either brightly colored marshmallow shapes, or a bright cartoon mascot on the front of the box. Cami looked quite proud at his selection, but Malik looked it over in horror, and then shook his head firmly.  
  
"I'm not made of money you know!" He cried in protest.  
  
Cami rolled his eyes and said in a 'duh' sort of way, "I am aware of that Malik."  
  
Malik slapped his forehead in frustration, unaware that Cami took everything literally but finding out soon enough. It took him several seconds, and many deep breaths before he could move on with OUR shopping trip. There weren't very many people in the store, and the people who had braved the storm didn't look happy. There were no families, and no one talked or laughed, or even smiled in the bunch.  
  
"The storm has gotten to them..." I mused to no one in particular.  
  
Malik just shrugged, and pushed the cart forward into the 'canned goods' isle. He didn't get far, though, almost running into a single elderly woman and having to skip to a halt. The woman looked at him strangely at first, and even though Malik gave her a little nod of apology, she just stood there and stared for a while more. Finally, she held up a finger and shook it at him.  
  
"Why aren't you in school, young man?" She said, her voice soft but gravely. "It isn't a Sunday."  
  
"No," Cami grinned, answering quickly and cheerfully, "We're playing hockey!"  
  
"Hooky." Malik muttered, steering the buggy away from the woman before anyone got into any trouble. "Come on, Cami."  
  
"Coming!" He shouted to us, turning to the woman and chirping, "Have a nice day ma'am!"  
  
Malik lead us into the produce area, which was filled with far more foods I knew about. I couldn't help grabbing as many fruits as I could and placing them inside the cart while Malik was looking in the other direction. He said that we couldn't get much fruit because it was expensive.  
  
What he forgets, is that I am the Pharaoh.  
  
And the Pharaoh is hungry for fruit.  
  
He never did notice what I had done, and after about a half-hour more of shopping, we were in the checkout lane. Malik almost fainted after seeing the bill, but all of us were 'conveniently' busy outside so he couldn't lecture us. And when it was time to go home, we all walked. Including Malik, who (so he didn't have to be stuck with Cami) made up the excuse that the motorcycle might slip on the water if he rides it too much, so he would just walk it.  
  
"I've done my good deed for the day. So I don't have to do anything for anyone for the rest of the day." Malik mumbled while he walked, "In fact, I think I'm good for the whole month."  
  
**** BAKURA ****  
  
We all pushed our way into the warm, dry, but annoyingly pink house. Malik had already left after making sure we got inside alright. I don't see why he thinks he has to protect us all of a sudden, so I was glad to see him leave.  
  
"We'd better unpack everything." Yami announced.  
  
Cami fell into a couch and looked out the window, "Jeez, what time is it?"  
  
Yami started to take things out of the bags and replied, "I'm not sure. I didn't think that we were gone long, but it's gotten much darker since we came back..."  
  
I sat down in the living room as well, and absentmindedly started to wring some of the water from my hair, "Time doesn't matter."  
  
Cami sat up slightly, shocked, "What do you mean 'time doesn't matter'? Of course it matters! How else are we going to know weather its dinner time, lunch time, or breakfast time?"  
  
My eyes lingered to the mirror object on the table as the scribe continued to tell us the importance of 'mealtimes' and for a split second, I thought I saw it flash. I blinked, and looked closer. There was nothing shining close enough to it that would make it flash.  
  
...or was there...  
  
Getting a strange idea, I picked up the mirror and held it up into the light. I turned it around, and felt the surface.  
  
"Bakura?" Cami said, "What's wrong?"  
  
I didn't answer, and held it up to the lamplight again. "Scribe, get a mirror."  
  
Confused, Cami took the small makeup mirror from his pocket and tossed it to me. I tossed it to Yami and got into place.  
  
"Pharaoh, reflect that light over to this mirror here." I explained.  
  
Yami looked behind him and saw the small light over the oven for cooking. He backed up and put the mirror in the perfect place, so that the light bounced off and created a long beam onto the wall. Carefully, so as not to loose the beam, Yami redirected the light onto the mirror I was holding in my palm.  
  
At first, nothing happened. But then I felt a strange warmth and sort of shudder from the mirror in my hand. I scanned the room, but didn't find what I was looking for.  
  
"What's this all about?" Cami asked.  
  
"Look around." I told him. "What do you see?"  
  
Cami did so, and reported, "I see Yami holding up my mirror and shining it onto your mirror. So what?"  
  
Yami seemed to see where I was going and started to look around the room, "You're mirror isn't reflecting the light."  
  
I nodded, "Exactly. The object is reflecting everything else, but it isn't reflecting light. The light is passing right through it."  
  
"But, what do you think it means?" Cami said softly.  
  
I placed the item back on the coffee table and shook my head, "I'm not sure."  
  
Yami smiled slightly, "So you were just announcing a random observation?"  
  
I sneered and got up from the couch saying, "It's not like you don't do that same thing."  
  
Yami snorted, Cami only laughed. He started to reach over to the object and said, "You know, this thing would be a great prop for a prank or--"  
  
Cami stopped in mid sentence, and dropped the mirror as if it had burned him. His eyes glossed over for a moment, and he raised a hand to touch his cheek. It took him a few seconds to blink and shake his head.  
  
"Everything alright, scribe?" Yami asked, coming over from the kitchen.  
  
Cami didn't answer right away, and his hand started to shake as we waited.  
  
"It...felt like someone...hit me." He said, uncertain of his own words.  
  
"Hit you?" Yami said, cocking an eyebrow at the boy.  
  
Cami nodded slowly, "I felt like someone hit he hard across the cheek..."  
  
I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a hard banging on the door.  
  
"Open the door dammit! We know you're in here!"  
  
********  
  
Retaw- That ending came out better then I expected. -__-;; Sorry if I'm a little off my game, and a week late, but I was having a huge writers block and couldn't think of anything that didn't come out like junk! Hopefully this is pretty good, though, and my next chapter for the DR will probably come easier. ^_^;;  
  
Oh yeah, and I almost forgot two things. First off, I wanna answer a question by 'DDOR'. Really there isn't much of a reason Caitlin and Ryou seem to be together more. They're just good friends, and because Caitlin is closer friends with Ryou then Yugi she usually talks to Ryou more often.  
  
...But really, Ryou might be more friends with Yugi then Caitlin. Ya never know. ^_^ Besides, RYOU IS MINEEEEE!!  
  
Ryou- O.O  
  
Retaw- *GLOMPS* So cute... *playing with his hair*  
  
Ryou- *turns to friends with a 'save me' look*  
  
Retaw- ^____^ *huggle* *huggle* 


	23. Tricked and Trapped

Retaw- I am REALLY sorry it took so long for me to update this time peoples! But I DO have a good reason this time around!  
  
Caitlin- *scoff* I'm sure...  
  
Retaw- *glare* I DO! See my computer has been down for like, FOREVER, and so I couldn't write a thing! It was really annoying, so if it's any consolation, I was just as perturbed as you all were when Sunday came and went. Maybe more REVIEWS would help? *batts eyes*  
  
Caitlin- Don't count on it.  
  
Retaw- ...-__-... OH YES! One more thing that has nothing to do with the story!  
  
~~NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY MOMENT: ~~  
  
~ OK, so, I've just gotten into this new anime called 'Kare Kano' or 'His and His Circumstances' in English. IT IS THE BEST THING! I love it so much! In fact, I'm listening to a few of the background music songs right now. I highly recommend it to all! ....except for one thing.  
  
The ending...it stinks.  
  
It really, really, really, REALLY stinks! It was horrible! The ending of the anime series was SOOOOO agrivating! It just ended! So take head. If you take my recommendation and watch Kare Kano (available on DVD and Manga) be ready for a really bad ending. That is all. ~  
  
RETAW- Ok, so I'm just going to get on with the story now! Hopefully, this will come out as well as I see it in my head...  
  
WARNING: Graphic violence ahead, this is why it's PG-13 peoples! Sorry!  
  
~** BRYAC **~  
  
"Well, I'm going to get something to eat." Yoko announced with a little wave, "I'll be back later!"  
  
I nodded, letting my eyes graze around the room, "I'm going to go find Notis. Try not to do anything stupid."  
  
Of course, the comment was directed to my 'new friends'. I didn't know what they would do without someone to help them, though frankly, I didn't really care. I had come here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to find the information I needed. I pushed my way through the crowd of people, and finally, I found Notis.  
  
Notis was a strange man. He had large hands and feet, a long, narrow face toped with straggly blond hair and abnormally huge brown eyes. He stood alone near the wall, and watched me blankly as I approached him. It had been a long time since I had seen him, almost nine years I think, and I could tell he recognized me enough to know he'd seen me, but not enough to know why. I only remembered him for his lamp-like eyes that stared right into you. He never missed a beat, which was one of the reasons Cavamick had elected him top spy.  
  
I stood next to him for a while, waiting for him to say something. He only stared me down at first, but then, he smiled.  
  
"Bryac." He said, still slightly unsure.  
  
I looked to him, "I was hoping you'd have news for me."  
  
At this, Notis' smile turned into a huge, toothy grin. "So it is you. I was wondering when I'd see you again, but when five years past I assumed you dead."  
  
I chuckled dryly, "You underestimate me, Notis. I'm not so easily killed."  
  
"I should have known." Notis said, "Forgive me."  
  
I chose to ignore the hint of sarcasm in his tone, and continued, "I was hoping you could tell me our current position."  
  
Notis blinked, "That's a very broad subject, Bryac."  
  
"Listen, are we still one step ahead of Yukio or not?"  
  
Notis hesitated for a moment, looked to the floor, and said, "I'm afraid this is beyond sugar coating, so I'm just going to tell you like it is."  
  
Though he created the illusion of being ready to tell, he was still holding something back. Whatever he needed to tell me, was obviously something I would not like to hear. He fidgeted, and sighed and then closed his eyes.  
  
"A group of our men were killed today."  
  
I felt my head jerk to stare at him. Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't that. Notis nodded, as if my reaction was exactly what he was expecting.  
  
"How many?"  
  
Notis looked to the ceiling this time, and paused while he tried to remember, "There were six of them. Three days ago we found the weapons of five who were killed. One seems to be missing, but we can't know for sure. Some people think he was killed with the others, other's don't."  
  
"Who was killed?" I demanded.  
  
Again, Notis sighed, "The ones that left were Cavamick, Shintel, Julian, Meiko, and Darren. There is no way of knowing who died and who disappeared."  
  
My mind began to race as I tried to process what Notis had told me. Five of our men had been killed. There were only thirty or forty in our group, and with five gone our chances of overtaking Yukio lowered even more. He was gaining allies and we were losing them! And if what he said was true, I had already lost maybe two of my finest warriors. My strongest swordsmen.  
  
My best friends.  
  
"That's not the worst of it." Notis continued, breaking my train of thought, "We've gone from being a step ahead to a step behind."  
  
This was almost too much, "What!"  
  
"Yukio has found the information he needs, gained the allies he needs, and in fact, has pin-pointed your location and is scheduled to come here tonight."  
  
For the first time in almost a decade, I panicked. "But how!?"  
  
Notis shrugged, like it was of no difference to him, "We don't know, but it seems that there is a leak in our group."  
  
I froze, "A leak?"  
  
Before Notis could respond, there was an ear splitting scream. I looked up from my own thoughts to be met with a horrifying sight. Hundreds of warriors flooded into the building, and created complete chaos among the people inside. Tables were overturned, people in the way were slaughtered, they just kept spreading more and more fear with their actions. Instantly, I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and began to scan the crowd for Thina, Yoko, Caitlin, Ryou and Yugi. I spun around, wildly searching for my companions but finding no one. As if it had been rehearsed, there then came a voice from behind me.  
  
"It is almost over now."  
  
My eyes were met with the glassy ones that could only belong to our oracle, Thina. She looked strangely worried, even for a situation like this. I was about to say something when she grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me close to her. Her grip was unbreakable, and her eyes were starting to bulge making her look almost deranged.  
  
"The end is coming." She said in a low voice, pulling me close enough that I was almost nose to nose with her, "You must listen to me! It is the beginning of the end! You will soon die! She will betray us and abandon all of us!"  
  
She was becoming more and more hysterical, and I didn't know how to respond. Thina never acted like this. She was always calm and in control, never showing any emotions. But this, this was completely unlike her. What had she fortold that could do this to her?  
  
"Bryac!"  
  
Yugi ran over to me, out of breath and very pale. He tripped a little on his way over, but nothing could stop him from getting over to our little area near the wall. Ryou came right after him, looking just as disheveled and horrified.  
  
"Bryac!" Yugi called, having to yell over the screams, "I can't find Yoko! And I just saw someone kidnapping Caitlin!"  
  
There was a crash, as the table nearest to us fell onto the floor letting the glasses on top of it fall and shatter on the ground right where Notis should have been. But he was gone. I cursed loudly and searched my mind for some clever way out of this mess, but there was none. The only 'brilliant plan' I had was to get out of here as quickly as possible. Hoping Thina, Yugi, and Ryou would catch on, I made a dash for the only exit in the building, and everyone followed me as close as they could. Seeing the exit, I let out a breath of relief as we neared the doorway, and flung the door open as soon as I was at touching distance. The small group piled out into the moonlight and we slammed the door behind us shut. I started to take off again, knowing that we needed to get distance between Yukio's men and ourselves, but because I was so engaged in thought, I didn't see the man in front of us and ran straight into him. He grabbed me hard around the neck and started to lift me into the air.  
  
"Well well," He sneered, "Look what I have here..."  
  
I gasped for air and reached for my sword.  
  
But it wasn't necessary.  
  
The next thing I heard was a high pitched shriek, and I was dropped onto the ground. The man fell to the ground and clutched his leg, rocking in agony as blood seeped into the grass from where his foot used to be. The man let himself lay in the grass, and his whole body began to twitch and writhe. I spun around to face a very shocked and disturbed Ryou, knuckles white from gripping his dagger so hard. Judging by the look on his face, I was sure he was about to vomit. But instead, he turned to me and smiled lightly.  
  
"I'm sorry, should I have left him to you?" He said playfully, sheathing his dagger even though he still looked stunned at what he did voluntarily.  
  
"You fool..."  
  
All eyes turned to the man, who laid still on the grass. His eyes were shut, and his body cold and limp, but I was sure it was him who had spoken. Cautiously, I walked to the man and stood over him, watching for any signs of life. He didn't move a muscle, or even seem to breathe, but I knew something was wrong.  
  
"Is he dead?" Yugi whispered.  
  
I didn't answer. I leaned over a little further to get a better look, but there was nothing. I gently took my own sword out, and slowly started to lower it down onto the man's face with no real intention to kill him more then Ryou had. He didn't budge. But to shake off my feelings of dread, I decided to kill him for sure anyway. Just to be sure. I raised the sword over my head and hurled it down at the man.  
  
Then, something happened.  
  
Immediately, the man's eyes flew open and he hit the side of the sword hard enough to fling it out from my hands and onto the ground. The man sneered, revealing his true nature and pulling himself up again.  
  
"But he was dead!" Yugi cried, backing up as the man wheezed.  
  
"Fool!" The man hissed, "Do not perceive me as only an ordinary human!"  
  
The man smirked, his eyes yellowing and pupils morphing into a slit. His legs fused together into a royal blue and black tail, and his teeth into fangs though the rest of his body stayed the same. The foot still laid in the grass, not attached to anything and not having any evidence that it had ever been attached to anything. Except, of course, a small section of the end of the tail that had been chopped off. Besides that, the man looked completely unharmed, though two times larger and nine hundred times deadlier.  
  
"A man snake." I said quietly.  
  
The snake smirked again, raising up onto it's tail, "That's right, human."  
  
"So then Yukio has gained your alliance as well?" I said louder.  
  
The snake clapped his hands and pretended to be impressed, "Why, Right again!"  
  
I tried to keep my frustration hidden as I continued, "What do you think you are going to earn from this?"  
  
The snake seemed surprised by the question, but quickly said, "Power of course. Yukio promised our kind half of the realm if we can just capture you little humans."  
  
I laughed, "And you believe him? Why would he just hand over the land to you? What's stopping him from taking us, and leaving you with nothing?"  
  
The snake hissed and glared down at us, "He wouldn't dare."  
  
"Ah, but he might." I proceeded, "How can you trust him?"  
  
In one swift movement, the snake was in front of me, with a snarl on his face that is only seen before you die. His tongue poked out through his teeth as he stared at me, contemplating what I had just said. Maybe he found some sense in what I had said, but didn't want to believe it. Or maybe he was thinking of an interesting way to kill me. Either way, I kept a straight face on as he stared.  
  
"You might be right, human." He hissed, "But if I cannot trust his word, then how in seven hells am I supposed to trust yours?"  
  
I knew that Caitlin and Yoko could be in grave danger, but I couldn't just run off with the snake human in the way. And there wasn't going to be any hope of persuading him, so I was left only with manipulating him. Slowly, I looked to my sword still laying on the ground. If I could only just reach it, then I could kill the beast and we'd be home free. But it was too far away. There was no way I could reach it without being noticed.  
  
Unless...  
  
"What about this." I told the snake, "How about we play a little game of trust. That way, you can tell if I'm worth listening to."  
  
The snake snorted, "I have no time for silly games. Besides, what could you possibly do that would make me trust you?"  
  
I reached a hand into my pocket, and pulled out a red stone, and a purple stone. I shook them in my fist for a while, and the snake man watched curiously. I then dropped them on the ground like dice, and smiled a little as they fell perfectly into place on the ground in the shape of a Ying Yang.  
  
"I promise you," I said, "That these rocks will always land that same way, no matter how you drop them."  
  
The snake's eyebrow raised, "What is the point of this?"  
  
"I want you to throw the rocks. If they land that way, like I say they will, then I will win this game and you let us go."  
  
"However," The snake interrupted, "If they land any other way than that, I will win and take all of you without a fight. Agreed?"  
  
Seizing the opportunity, I turned around as if to look at the group behind me for their opinion. I looked hard at Yugi, so he knew I was trying to tell him something, and then glanced to the sword sitting a little ways away from us. He was confused at first, but I had no time to explain, and decided not to push my luck. I turned back around and faced the snake.  
  
"We agree."  
  
It was all Yugi now, I could only hope.  
  
"Good." The snake said with a grin, "I'm always up to a good gamble. It's a shame this won't last long, though..."  
  
"Don't be so sure." I corrected him, picking up the stones again and handing them over to the snake.  
  
The man snake grinned again, fangs sticking out from his mouth as he held the stones in his palm. He shook them around for a moment, and just when he was about to throw them onto the ground-  
  
"Just a minute!"  
  
He stopped, and looked up at me angrily, "What is it?"  
  
I tapped my chin thoughtfully, "You know, because you aren't entirely human, the dice won't work for you."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"They will only half work." I explained, "Because you are only half human, you see. If you want to make up for it and play this game fairly, you will need to hold the rocks on top of each other before you throw and say the following words---"  
  
"I don't have time for this!" The snake snapped.  
  
"Ah ah ah," I said, shaking a finger, "A game is a game. Now, I need you to say 'Oh mighty rocks of the sky, help me win the game of mine, for I am only half a man, and no one like me could win against...him.'"  
  
The snake looked at me skeptically, "Was that supposed to rhyme?"  
  
I innocently cocked my head to the side like I wasn't sure, and the snake man sighed heavily.  
  
"Oh mighty roc---"  
  
"One more thing."  
  
The snake hissed loudly and practically shouted, "What is it now!?"  
  
"Your eyes." I said, covering my own, "You cannot watch the rocks or it will jinx your chances. Now, I don't care much if you do it or not, personally, because it wouldn't help me in the bit."  
  
"FINE!" He said, tightly squeezing the rocks to keep his anger from rising. He closed his eyes, and raised the rocks over his head in preparation to throw them. He took a deep breath and began chanting.  
  
"Oh mighty rocks of the sky, help me win this game of mine, for--"  
  
"Slower." I instructed.  
  
The snake's whole body shook as he started again slower, but through clenched teeth. I heard the footsteps behind me, and glanced to the side enough to see Yugi in my prefrial vision. He didn't make much of a sound as he dashed over to the sword laying in the grass, and watched for my signal.  
  
"---and no one like me could win against him."  
  
I nodded as the time came, and Yugi threw the sword over to me. I caught it as the rocks hit the ground and fell into the Ying Yang position like they should. The snake beast watched in shock as he first saw the rocks fall, and then saw the sword clutched in my hand. I smirked, and held the sword up higher so it caught the light of the moon and seemed to sparkle.  
  
"B-b-but---how?" The snake cried, horrified. "What magic is this!?"  
  
"Magnets, idiot." I answered bluntly, "Guess I'm not so trustworthy after all."  
  
The snake had no time to react as the sword came falling down on him and cut into his skull. He screamed out in pure agony as the blood issued from the wound like a mortal fountain. Gushing forth into the air and running down his forehead. He fell to the ground when I let go of my sword, knowing it was the only thing keeping him up.  
  
Then, there was complete silence.  
  
Yugi took a step forward first, and did his best to say something, but couldn't come up with the words. Ryou had gone paler then he had been before, and Thina was slowly and gently shaking her head. I took a long breath, heart still beating from the last attack. Then I walked over and yanked the sword free from his skull. The body disintegrated instantly, but the blood still laid glistening on the grass.  
  
"What do we do now?" Ryou said uneasily.  
  
I looked to him calmly, "Let's go find the others."  
  
~** CAITLIN **~  
  
"How are you feeling, girl?"  
  
I ignored him, turning my head the other way to look at the empty seat next to me. My feet were bound, I was completely unarmed, and they had locked me into the carriage after all. I didn't know anything about what they planned to do with me, which made me very uneasy. Yukio sat across from me, arms crossed in front of him and dagger handy.  
  
"It's been almost four hours now," He continued, "and you haven't spoken a single word."  
  
Again, I ignored him. I was completely determined not to tell him anything that he could use against me, and refused to say a word. Yukio was growing impatient. I had learned that about him in the short period of time. He was an impatient man, ruthless and a liar. He never grew 'attached' to any living soul, and therefore, he had no problem making sacrifices. Suddenly, I heard a slam against the side of the carriage.  
  
"Speak, girl, speak!" Yukio demanded, "I have long sense forgotten the sound of your voice, now tell me what you are thinking!"  
  
His right hand was on the dagger, while his left still hung in the air where he had slammed his fist against the wall of the carriage. I didn't like that position he was in, so I hastily came up with some things to say that he couldn't use to his own advantage.  
  
"I am thinking," I said quietly, "That I should have never left my home."  
  
This didn't seem like the answer Yukio wanted, and he clenched his fist angrily. I was about to try and come up with something new to say, when my eyes caught the glint of something shoved into the seat next to me. Curiously, I slid my hand down into the crevasse and pulled out what looked like a small shard of a mirror.  
  
I ran my fingers down the surface and asked, "What is this?"  
  
I got no answer. Instead, I was slapped so hard across the cheek that I dropped the mirror and fell against the back of my seat. Yukio's eyes were ablaze as he snatched the mirror back and glared at me.  
  
"Your wandering eye will be the death of you." He warned.  
  
I touched my cheek lightly to stop the stinging, and then returned to staring at the empty seat next to me. Everything was silent, except for the sound of horses hooves and the footsteps of Yukio's men from outside. Suddenly, I felt the carriage slow to a halt, and Yukio rose to his feet with a sickening smile.  
  
"It seems we have reached our destination." He said, "Get out girl. It is time for our little plan to take effect."  
  
~** BRYAC **~  
  
I sliced the branches in front of us as Thina, Yugi, Ryou and I ran through the thick forest. Sharply cut branches and thorny bushes cut at my skin, but I didn't care. Ryou was right behind me, able to run faster than the others most likely because he was light and had long legs. Thina came up after, and Yugi last. It was starting to worry me that we hadn't come up with Yoko or Caitlin yet, after all the searching we had done.  
  
"Do we know where we're going?" Yugi shouted, "I mean, are we going in the opposite direction and don't even know it?"  
  
"We don't have time for that, Yugi!" I snapped, pushing my way through the brush, "Yukio could have killed them now for all we know!"  
  
I cut my way through a large group of tree vines and saw something that made me feel we still had hope. There in front of me, was what looked like a road. It wasn't done well, which lead me to believe it was made in a hurry, and there were human footprints in the dirt along with four tire tracks.  
  
"We must be close..." I murmured, scanning the area quickly.  
  
"Bryac, look!" Ryou said, pointing up ahead.  
  
There was something in the road. Something small and crouched over like it was looking for something. It was the middle of the night, so I couldn't make out what it was easily. But when it looked up, I felt a wave of relief.  
  
"Yoko!" I shouted, running over to the girl.  
  
She looked up at me and smiled, "Oh Bryac! I'm so glad I found you I was so worried!"  
  
"There isn't any time for that." I told her, "Do you know anything about these tracks?"  
  
She nodded, face covered in dirt and hair full of leaves, "Yes. Yukio came this way with his men, and Caitlin is with them."  
  
I cursed and took off running down the road, Yoko cried out to me but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I just knew that if Yukio had his way, she'd be dead by morning if she wasn't already. I glanced behind me to see Ryou and Yugi were running with me as well, but Thina stayed with Yoko. I looked ahead.  
  
There was the faint light of a campfire not far from where we were. I stopped, and waited for Yugi and Ryou to catch up.  
  
"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, skidding to a halt next to me, "Why did you stop."  
  
I wordlessly pointed to the campfire glow, and whispered, "You can come with me, but don't make a sound. I'm going to check it out."  
  
Ryou and Yugi nodded solemnly, and we all crept over to the light. It turned out to be a campfire alright, washing the area around it in pure golden light. But strangely, there wasn't anyone there. I walked over to the fire and kicked a stone in. Why would someone leave their fire on if they had left? I looked around the area even more closely, suddenly getting the uncanny feeling that  
  
I was being watched.  
  
"Over here!" Yugi called, waving us over.  
  
He was a little ways further from the fire, and when I ran to him, saw that he was standing next to what looked like a small door carved into an oak tree. He felt around the surface, clearly looking for some sort of a catch to get it open.  
  
"It won't open." Yugi told us, "But it just doesn't make sense that someone would carve this here for no reason."  
  
"With a knob and everything..." Ryou trailed off, squinting at the tree.  
  
I thought about it for a moment, but nothing added up to me. I turned and looked around a last time before looking to the two boys.  
  
"Ryou," I said, "Cut through the door with your dagger."  
  
Ryou blinked, but nodded and pulled out the Dagger of Kusdai. He closed his eyes in concentration, and then in one swift movement, carved exactly around the door in the oak. He then smiled, and showed off a slight bit by simply touching the door, and having it fall down inside the tree. It was true,  
  
The tree was hollow.  
  
In fact, not only hollow. There were tiny stairs the coiled down into the dark underground. Yugi took is upon himself, and carefully, started to walk down the stairs into the darkness. He did it almost effortlessly, which Ryou and I both believe, is because he has such small feet. Because I quickly found out, coming right after him, that it wasn't as easy for me to climb down stairs as tiny and steep as those.  
  
"You don't have to worry." Yugi said from below, "It's alright."  
  
"...Something about this seems....odd..." I said.  
  
I didn't have much time to think about this, though, because shortly after I said that something big and heavy landed on me and knocked my down onto the ground. And what's more, because those stairs were so steep, I and what was on top of me ended up sliding down the remainder of the hard wooden stairs face first, and landing hard on a wooden floor.  
  
"Are you guys alright?"  
  
I looked up at Yugi, who had come down the stairs successfully with no bumps and/or bruises. I pushed whatever was on top of me off, and glared down at what had turned out to be:  
  
Ryou.  
  
He blushed and pulled himself off the ground guiltily muttering, "They weren't as stable as they looked..."  
  
I opened my mouth to yell at him, when I heard a small sound from a little further in the tree. In fact, once you got down the small stairs this place was unusually spacious. There were tree roots coming from the ceiling, and only a small bit of wood on the floor that I had landed on. But it was almost completely black. Except for the subtle glow coming from Ryou and Yugi's items that helped them see where they were going.  
  
"Is there someone else down here?" Yugi whispered.  
  
"I don't know." Ryou answered, starting to go down one of the many tunnels.  
  
I heard the sound again, sort of a muffled grumbling. What first came into my mind was a Griffin that might have lived in the tunnels. But what I saw, definitely wasn't a Griffin.  
  
"Caitlin?" Yugi said.  
  
Caitlin looked up at us, curled up against a dirt wall with ropes tied around her legs, arms, and one in her mouth to keep her from calling out for help. Her pupils dilated at the sight of us and she started to shake her head wildly. Ryou knelt over and cut through the ties around her legs, and I started to untie the one in her mouth. She pulled away from me when Ryou cut her arms free, and she yanked the gag out by herself glaring angrily at me.  
  
"IDIOT!" She shrieked, "It's a trap you moron!"  
  
The words barely left her mouth when I was grabbed from behind. My arm was twisted painfully behind me, and I felt someone roughly start searching me for any belongings that might be worth anything to them. That's when they found the sword. I couldn't see their faces, but fought back to the best of my abilities and unfortunately, caused one man behind me to loose their temper. He shouted something inaudible to the others around me, I then felt a hard blow on the back of my head and my vision faded to black.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Retaw- Yes. Things are definitely starting to fall apart. But come on, their luck couldn't last forever. And also, I noticed that for some reason, a lot of people black out in my story at the end of a chapter. *shrug* Go figure.  
  
SUNC! 


	24. Rain Gets Worse

TV- *familiar jungle starts*  
  
Retaw- *ears perk up* O.O Oh no...  
  
All- O.o  
  
Retaw- *covers ears* NOT THE MR. BUCKET COMMERCIAL!  
  
All- o_O *listens to the commercial*  
  
TV- *singing* I'm Mr. Bucket put your balls in my mouth!  
  
All- ....?  
  
Retaw- *twitch* *twitch*  
  
Bakura- *gets it* I notice that there is no Mrs. Bucket...  
  
All- .... *finally get it* O_____O  
  
Tea- *turns very pale and eyes get really big* Oh my...  
  
Cami- *horrified* THAT'S A LITTLE KID'S TOY!?  
  
Yami- That's...very disturbing...  
  
Caitlin- *shuts eyes and shakes head to get rid of unwanted mental images* Ew...  
  
Cami- *still ranting* IT'S SICK AND WRONG! SICK AND WRONG!!  
  
Retaw- *turns off TV* *still twitching* Curse my perverted friends...  
  
Editor- *tries to look innocent* Who, me?  
  
Retaw- YES YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BROUGHT IT TO MY ATTENTION!  
  
Editor- *pause* Oh yeah... ^^;; I did didn't I?  
  
Retaw- YES YOU DID! YOU'VE SCARRED ME FOR LIFE! I USED TO BE INNOCENT!  
  
Editor- In my defense, you were WAY too innocent. Still are, really. *jerks thumb in direction of Ryou* You were as innocent as him, and that's not healthy.  
  
Ryou- *insulted* *pouts*  
  
Retaw- But he's so cute! ^-^ *glomps*  
  
Ryou- (-_-;;  
  
Retaw- Anyway, thought I needed to get that off my chest. If you don't get it, BE RELIEVED. Trust me, you don't want to know what my 'friend' *glares at Stevie* (Editor: *waves*) brought up to me. NOW TO THE STORY!  
  
WARNING: I was hyper whilst writing this chapter, at least the beginning anyway. Deal with it.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
"OPEN THE DOOR DAMMIT, WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"  
  
Everyone froze as the doorbell rang over and over again. I turned to Yami, unsure of what to do next, but he only kept a blank expression. There was another slam on the door, and I took a step back.  
  
"Should we...hide or something?" I whispered.  
  
No one answered me. The doorbell rang another five times, and no one was moving. Not any of us, and not whomever was at the door.  
  
"Do you think it's the school? Coming because we missed a day?"  
  
Again, no one answered. I was getting very frustrated now.  
  
"Or it could---"  
  
"Scribe..." Bakura snarled through his teeth, "Shut...the hell...up."  
  
"LET US IN!"  
  
I couldn't help it, I had to speak one last time, "They said us, that means there are more then just one person there."  
  
Bakura shot me one of his infamous death glares and said angrily, "You think we don't realize that, scribe?"  
  
I couldn't help notice that the softer he talked, the more it sounded like an 'I'm gonna kill you now' statement. Suddenly, the doorknob started to jiggle, and then turned abruptly to the left. I jumped as the door swung open at high speeds, dumping three sopping wet teens onto the floor in front of us. There was a loud groan from whoever was at the bottom, and then the two on top of him were thrust off immediately, revealing a very disgruntled Joey Wheeler.  
  
"Joey?" Yami exclaimed, quickly rushing over to them.  
  
Bakura rolled his eyes in disgust, and I couldn't help agree. I mean, come on. Weren't they the ones who scared the bajibers out of us trying to break into MY house? Yami helped Joey up, along with an equally disgruntled Tea and Tristen, and then reached for the blankets near him. Hey, aren't those the good blankets?  
  
** CHIBI MOMENT **  
  
Cami took a running leap to where Yami was innocently sitting, successfully grabbing the 'good' blankets, and saving them from getting wet. However, he also ended up running face first into the wall and sliding down it as his legs twitched.  
  
Yami's head got very big as he yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"  
  
Cami slowly turned a very red face to Yami (which was complete with that little bandage thingy on his forehead that just appeared out of nowhere). Cami triumphantly held the blankets over his head and posed as the stars flew around to signal his success.  
  
** END **  
  
"These are the GOOD blankets!" I told him, acting as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
Yami blinked, "And?"  
  
I smacked a hand to my forehead and shook my head sadly at his ignorance, "They are DRY CLEAN ONLY."  
  
** CHIBI MOMENT **  
  
Tea, Joey, and Tristen- O.O *blink* *blink*  
  
Yami and Bakura- *mushroom cloud sigh and HUGE sweatdrop*  
  
** END **  
  
"Cami," Tea said, in her 'oh so sweetest' way, "No offence, but you REALLY need a hobby."  
  
"Scribe, hand over the blankets please, we need to get our friends dry."  
  
Bakura snickered, and I held the blankets higher over my head. Yami scowled at me, and just to make him even more upset I stuck my tongue out at him. It's just so much fun to do that to a Pharaoh.  
  
"Oh that was mature." Bakura said, seeing that everything was completely normal again and going back to his usual sarcasm.  
  
"I never said I was mature." I told him, feeling very smart for some reason. Wait, did I just dis myself?  
  
Yami sighed, and looked like he was about to walk away and get more towels. I grinned, ready to start rubbing this in his face at first chance, when-  
  
** CHIBI MOMENT **  
  
"OH MY RA!!"  
  
WHAM! Next thing I knew, I had been slammed hard on the ground with a five thousand year old Pharaoh on top of me. He started fighting me for the blankets, but I will never let him have them!!  
  
"AHHHH!!" I screamed, trying to roll over and hide the blankets under my stomache.  
  
"GIVE THEM TO ME!" He shouted back at me.  
  
"NEVER!" I shouted back, "YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THEM! NEVER!"  
  
"HAND THEM OVER! YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T WIN AGAINST THE KING OF GAMES!"  
  
"NOOOOO! LET GO OF MY BLANKETS!!"  
  
"NEVER!"  
  
"Ahem?"  
  
Everyone froze in the room, as Bakura held up a few folded up towels with a sarcastic smile. Yami and I could only blink in surprise, and because we weren't getting the towels 'fast enough' or something, Bakura rolled his eyes exasperatedly and threw the towels over to the normal teenagers, giving us a last 'I live in a house full of crazy people' look. Even though I, personally, think that he is ten times crazier then me and Yami put together.  
  
...well, maybe not Yami. Just me.  
  
Yeah, just me. ^-^  
  
** END **  
  
"Thanks." Tea murmured, shaking some of the water out of her hair and getting the rest out with the towel.  
  
Joey seemed to care more about his sneakers, and immediately started to try and dry them, even though every other part of him was still sopping wet.  
  
"The weather's way worse." Tea explained, giving Tristen and Joey a sour look. (Tristen was now trying to help Joey with his shoes)  
  
"Yeah," Tristen said, "It was just raining when we decided to come over, and then when we were almost there it REALLY started to pour."  
  
"Lighting and thunder and everything." Joey added, "I swear, wasn't it just last week or somethin' when there was sun everyday?"  
  
I let this hang in the air for a little bit before breaking the quiet by asking, "Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be in school today?"  
  
This earned me three, hardcore, I'm-gonna-kill-you glares, one from each of our guests. Heck, for some reason, I even got an almost hidden one from Bakura, and Yami quickly gazed guiltily at the wall. Tea straightened up a little bit, with a forced calm expression. Then, she looked at me again.  
  
"Why aren't YOU?" She said icily.  
  
Yami physically cringed. And that made me feel like I said something wrong, but nothing seemed that bad to me... Why weren't we in school again? Oh yeah, we played hockey today!  
  
....whoops...  
  
"Why on earth did you skip school!?" Tea exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah!" Joey joined in, "You shoulda called me first! I woulda skipped too!"  
  
Tea shot him a look, and then continued, "I would have thought better of you!"  
  
Bakura didn't care, I didn't care, Yami cared, but that wasn't important. What was important, was that we change the subject immediately.  
  
"You still haven't answered my question, why aren't you in school?" I repeated.  
  
Tea opened her mouth to say something back at me for not acting guilty about skipping school, but she obviously couldn't think of something very good, so she just sighed exasperatedly and continued to dry her hair.  
  
"We came during lunch break." She said, "Only now we're stuck here."  
  
Tristen seemed all too happy with that, and nodded, "Yup! Looks like we're stuck here!"  
  
Joey grinned, "Guess we'll have to stay here until the storm stops! Too bad it might take hours..."  
  
"Or days..." Tristen added hopefully.  
  
"Or weeks..." Joey continued, smiling lazily at the wall while he thought.  
  
"Or years!"  
  
"Or centuries!"  
  
Suddenly, the sound of pounding rain on the roof, stopped. Everyone froze, listening intently for any sounds from the storm that had been going on, but there was none. Not even a dribble was to be heard. Joey and Tristen's face fell.  
  
"Wow..." Tea said, slightly confused, "I guess...we can go back to school now."  
  
Tristen slumped back down on the floor and pouted, "Figures..."  
  
Joey, however, wasn't going to give up that easily. He ran over to the window and flung it open to look outside properly. Then, before anyone knew what he was going to do next, he started screaming.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!? YOU RAIN LONG ENOUGH TO SOAK US BUT NOT LONG ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY DO SOME GOOD!!? ITS BEEN RAINING FOREVER AND YOU DECIDE TO STOP NOW!?"  
  
"...uh, Joey?" Tea asked uneasily.  
  
"RAIN! START RAINING AGAIN, DAMMIT! GO AHEAD AND STORM! GIVE IT TO ME!" He shouted.  
  
"Joey!" Tea scolded, pulling him away from the window and shutting it tightly.  
  
"What do you think you're doing!?" She hissed, "You're going to make all the neighbors think you're crazy!"  
  
Joey glared at her, and muttered angrily, "It was worth a try."  
  
"You can't control the weather, so why try?" Tea told him.  
  
Suddenly, as if an reply to her question, there came a roar of thunder so loud, that it made everyone jump and every window shake violently. And then, the rain started again, even harder and windier then before, if that was possible. Joey beamed at Tea, and Tristen gave him a hi-five.  
  
"See?" Joey said, "Works every time."  
  
Another blast of thunder blared, and the lights in the house flickered about two times before they went out completely.  
  
"Great job, genius." Tea said, "Now the power's out."  
  
"Hey!" Joey exclaimed, "I thought I couldn't control the weather miss--"  
  
Yami cut them short saying loudly, "Calm down, both of you. We have bigger problems on our hands."  
  
Tea and Joey glared, and 'humph'ed, and then retreated into a corner away from the other. Tristen just shrugged, and Yami let out a long sigh.  
  
"I'm going to see if there are any matches." Bakura mumbled slyly, starting to leave the room. Unfortunately, Yami had grabbed him by the shoulder by then, and wasn't letting him leave.  
  
"Oh no you don't." He said sternly, "I don't even want to imagine what you could do with matches in your hands."  
  
Bakura pretended to be insulted, and replied innocently, "Why Pharaoh, you don't trust me?"  
  
Yami growled, "No." He answered bluntly.  
  
"Well then," Bakura said, a smirk slowly creeping onto his face, "I guess I'll just have to find them when you're asleep, shunt I? Which is fine with me, I've always wondered how flammable your hair gel is."  
  
Yami looked incredibly frustrated, but finally gave in at last and roughly left the tomb robber go.  
  
"Go then!" He snapped.  
  
Bakura grinned evilly, winning again over the Pharaoh. Or at least, he thought he had won.  
  
"But you have to take the scribe with you." Yami added.  
  
Bakura's sneer abruptly fell into an angry one. His head jerked my way as he scowled, and he spoke through gritted teeth as he replied, "Fine!"  
  
This time, it was Yami's turn to smile arrogantly.  
  
...maybe I should be insulted that they see hanging out with me as a punishment.  
  
"Come on, scribe." Bakura grumbled, leaving.  
  
...  
  
~** YAMI ** ~  
  
...  
  
I smiled as I saw Bakura leave angrily with the scribe, but then my attention turned back to Yugi's friends. It was too dark to make out the details, but I could tell that none of them were happy about the situation. And even I, myself, was picking up a strange vibe that made me very uneasy.  
  
"Hey, big Yug'?" Joey said.  
  
I snapped out of my thoughts and stared down at the boy. He glanced towards the hallway and shifted uncomfortably against the wall.  
  
"Do you see that light there? Or is it just me?" He said in a low tone.  
  
I looked in the direction he was gesturing at, and sure enough, there was a faint, blue light coming from the living room. I couldn't think of what could be making that glow, unless...  
  
"I saw that too." Tea said, "But I just assumed it was a nightlight or something."  
  
"Should we go check it out?" Joey asked.  
  
I nodded to him, and Tristen and Joey both got back onto their feet, but Tea stayed where she was.  
  
"You guys go ahead." She said softly, "I'd feel safer here."  
  
"Come on, Tea." Joey protested, "What's the worst that could happen?"  
  
Tea pushed herself farther from him and shook her head firmly, "I'm not going. I just can't shake this feeling that it's something bad."  
  
...so she felt it too...  
  
Joey shrugged, "Alright, if that's how you feel, we'll go on without ya."  
  
Tea jumped as the lighting lit the room, and she looked back to us with pleading eyes. She looked genuinely terrified, and her voice cracked a little when she said, "N-no! Don't leave!"  
  
Joey sighed, not feeling any sympathy for the girl, "Tea, either you go with us, or you stay. What's your choice?"  
  
"It's ok Joey," Tristen interrupted, "I'll stay with her."  
  
Joey nodded to him, and then to me. I, too, felt nervous about the whole thing, but Joey had made up his mind to go, and there wasn't anything that was going to change it. We followed the faint light into the living room, and like I expected, we found the cause of it coming from the coffee table. It was still lying exactly where Cami had dropped it before.  
  
It was coming from that window.  
  
"What is that?" Joey asked me.  
  
I looked closely, the light seemed to be getting brighter by the second. But it hadn't been glowing before, had it?  
  
"Looks like some sort of mirror." Joey commented when I didn't answer right away.  
  
He leaned over and tried to pick the window up off the table, but as soon as he touched it, his hand jolted and he let the window fall free. I blinked as Joey nursed his hand, and looked at the window in complete shock.  
  
"It-It zapped me!" He blurted out, "It burnt me and shocked me at the same time! What the hell is that thing!?"  
  
Little sparks of what looked like blue electricity danced around the window dangerously, and even the shine on it seemed sharper. It was...defending itself. But why? Suddenly, there was a high pitched scream.  
  
"I think that was Tea!" Joey exclaimed.  
  
Before we could react, there was the sound of smashing glass, and a single thought rose in my mind.  
  
The window.  
  
Instantly, Joey and I took off running to where we left our friends, and what we saw then, would haunt me for the rest of my life.  
  
*************  
  
Retaw- *evil grin* Mwahahaha....dun dun duuuuuun! I know, ^____^ I'm bad. But being bad is just so much fun sometimes!  
  
......  
  
-NOTE-  
  
......  
  
Oh yeah, and before I go. My sister was watching 'Lizzie McGuire' yesterday, and I was shocked to find that THOSE FREAKIN PEOPLE STOLE MY JOKE!!  
  
Do any of you readers know what joke I'm talking about? I was watching the episode where Miranda dresses up like a boy to spy on Gordo or whatever, and when she's in the restaurant she doesn't know what restroom to use.  
  
I swear! It took me FOREVER TO COME UP WITH THAT JOKE! THAT JOKE PRACTICALLY INFLUENCED THE WHOLE STORY! IT MADE ME THINK 'Hm, that's pretty good, but how could I use that in my stories? Oh yes! I could put it in Dreams Do Come True'!' BUT NO! THEY STOLE IT AS THEIR OWN! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!  
  
Caitlin- -____-;; She's been stressing over this for weeks, [R: Oh yeah, about that. Sorry it took so long to update!] you might as well get comfortable. *pulls out popcorn*  
  
READ AND REVIEW! 


	25. Facing One's Self

"WHAT DID YOU SAAAAY!?"  
  
The man shrunk back immensely he slammed his fists hard against the desk in his anger, causing the three golden items to shake.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, sir! W-w-we tried to stop him but he paid us no head!" He stuttered.  
  
Yukio spun around and gave the maddest death glare to the man behind him. The man turned paler then before, and fell to his knees with tears lining the edges of his eyes.  
  
"We did our b-best sir!" He cried, "P-please! Don't hurt me!"  
  
Disgusted, Yukio spat onto the ground, and slumped into his chair. He closed his eyes for a moment, tapping his fingers together and breathing heavily as he thought of what to do next. The man just shook, trying hard to contain his own sobs in front of his master, but failing miserably.  
  
"So he took the sword." Yukio muttered, "He took the sword, AND left them in the Cave of Undoing?"  
  
"Yes-s-s." The man answered.  
  
Yukio leaned back, pondering it for a moment. He was a man of strategy, though he didn't look it, and somewhere inside him, a familiar feeling of victory was welling up again. He could usually work these sorts of things into his own advantage, could the same be done in this circumstance? Out of habit, Yukio reached for a pen on his desk and started to spin the cap around while he thought. The man grew steadily uncomfortable as Yukio said nothing, and shifted nervously on the floor.  
  
"...Do you think it was wise, sir?" He whispered, "Do you think the fire demon knew what he was doing?"  
  
Yukio didn't even look up at the man in front of him, he just continued to play mindlessly with his pen. The man only waited, knowing for sure that the slightest thing could set Yukio off, and he was quite capable of killing off one of his own men. After what happened to Hugo the other day, no one dared even offer advice to Yukio. He was taking a huge risk, and putting his life on the line for it as well, but he knew that he had to say something. Quickly, he ran a hand across his face to wipe off the last tears and beads of nervous sweat.  
  
"Sir?" He said again under his breath, afraid Yukio would get angry if he interrupted his train of thought or something equally ridiculous.  
  
Yukio stopped twirling his pen and broke it in half, sending ink all over the desk. Even such a simple action as that made the poor man flinch. Yukio looked up slowly, his eyes full of fire, as a sudden realization hit him. However, that same face made the man sure that he was about to murder him.  
  
But he didn't.  
  
Instead, much to the man's confusion, he started to smile.  
  
"And why do you think that?" Yukio asked him.  
  
This made the man panic. Yukio never acted like this in front of anyone before, and his sudden cheerfulness had to be fake. It just had to be! Maybe he was just setting him up for a good killing, but if that was the case, it was too late for him now anyway. All he could do was answer the question, and beg for forgiveness if the need arose.  
  
"W-well," The man began, forgetting his point for a moment before hastily remembering it again, "D-don't you need the humans for this to work."  
  
Yukio turned back to his broken pen and grunted in half agreement.  
  
"B-b-but if they don't survive this, h-how will you be able to put your plan into action?"  
  
Yukio halted, holding one side of the pen in his fingers and looking up slowly again. The man tensed up, and was afraid even to breathe. But then, Yukio broke into a wide grin and started to laugh.  
  
It began as a chuckle, but it continued to grow louder and stronger until it was so much that Yukio was forced to throw his head back and laugh towards the sky. Uneasily, the man smiled a bit while his master laughed uncontrollably. But the laughing didn't stop. And caught up in the moment, the man began to laugh as well, more because Yukio was laughing himself then for any particular reason.  
  
But as soon as he started to actually laugh, Yukio's hand thrust out at him at lightning fast speeds and yanked the man towards him.  
  
"Don't you see?" Yukio laughed, his laughter becoming more and more demonic, and his eyes starting to bulge, "We don't need them any more!"  
  
The man began to sweat heavily as he forced a smile. His face was only about an inch away from Yukio's, and he secretly held his breath as Yukio laughed upon him hysterically. The man thanked god as Yukio let go of him and jumped to his feet, leaving the man to sink into the floor, overcome with shock.  
  
"Let them rot in their bleak tomb!" He sang insanely, almost dancing to his bookshelf.  
  
"Let them die inside themselves with no one else to find them! Let their skin become so putrid that even the rats refuse to feed on them, and the fly's reject their fresh eye balls held open as their own souls devour them!"  
  
He flung a shelf full of books onto the floor and let a deranged cackle issue from him, "May mushrooms grow from their bodies and hair fall from their heads and their bones will dissolve and blow away as dust but they will still be trapped inside!"  
  
He lit a match and threw it onto the pile of books on the floor. It instantly erupted into flames in the middle of the room. His face looked darker then usual, the man observed in terror as he desperately pushed himself away from the bonfire.  
  
"And if they escape, why should I care?!" He roared, "I know their weaknesses now, there is no turning back! No no no, my sorry friend, what we need, is the Fire Demon."  
  
Another deranged smile spread onto his lips, "And I know just how to get him."  
  
Yukio grabbed a near bottle of whisky and crashed it against the wall, sending glass everywhere. The man gaped at him in horror as he then took the largest shard of glass on the floor and held it in front of him.  
  
"I guess its like they always say," Yukio shouted, "If you want power, the first step is to BE power!"  
  
He laughed at his own jest and swiftly stabbed the long jagged piece of glass into his chest. Scarlet blood crept instantly onto Yukio's white shirt, a look of twisted pain and amusement on his face as he smiled and then fell into the fire in front of him.  
  
The man cried out as he watched Yukio plunge to his supposed death, and ran to the fire in a feeble attempt to save his crazed master. He had barely struggled back down to his feet when the inferno seemed to explode into a gigantic black mess of heat, easily engulfing the tiny man before he could even scream out in shock or pain. His master's body was doused in blood red flames, his skin cooking in the heat, but the smile still standing out. But the man could not see this. He had already died in the fire, thinking his master had as well.  
  
But he was wrong.  
  
Oh so wrong.  
  
[A/N: This was a chapter that I had written originally for another story, but in the end, it influenced the making of 'PART TWO' of Dreams Do Come true. In fact, I had seriously considered stopping part one here, and making a completely new fanfic for the sequal, and end of the series, but I reconsidered and decided to just finish what I had started where I started it.]  
  
*-* Ryou *-*  
  
It took a few seconds for me to even realize I was awake. I heard no sound, I saw no light, as far as I was concerned, I was still in a deep sleep. I just laid there for a moment, my body numb and my thoughts few. Then suddenly, I felt a deep freezing sensation inside of me that threw my eyes open once more. The icy feeling crept up on me quickly, and I let out a muffled gasp, as it became almost too cold to bear. I promptly sat up in the darkness and rubbed my arms vigorously to warm them.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
I stopped, shocked by the sound that come out of my own mouth. My words sounded hard and hoarse, completely unlike my usual tone. In fact, my whole body felt hard. Stiff, even my lungs, like I hadn't moved or even breathed in quite some time. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Days maybe?  
  
...Years?  
  
I tried my voice again, clearing my throat gingerly before hand; "Is anyone t-there?"  
  
Still no answer.  
  
The cold hadn't died down since I had started moving, and it was becoming harder to breathe as the time lapsed. I exhaled slowly and huddled my freezing body together, but it didn't help me. It seemed like there was no heat left in my body, which worried me.  
  
I flinched, feeling something cold fall into my hair. But when I reached up and tried to figure out what it was, it seemed to have vanished. Another cold thing fell onto me, on my arm now. This time, I reacted quicker and ran a hand over where it had landed. My stomach lurched as the realization finally came to me.  
  
It was snowing.  
  
As if an answer to my thoughts, more snow rained from the sky onto me, and I began to panic. I couldn't see, I could barely move, and now I was going to freeze to death. I was about to become a human popsicle! Dryly, I began to plan out how I would die and rate them in pain and suffering.  
  
Sit there huddled until you get covered in snow completely and then drowned in it. Suffering Rating: 4  
  
Try to find your way around without any eye site and realize that you are on top of a mountain a little too late and fall to your death without even being able to see the ground so you'd know when you'd break your neck. Suffering Rating: 8  
  
Freeze. Suffering Rating: 9  
  
I shook the barbaric thoughts from my mind, and let out a long sigh as I shivered. I was beginning to shake uncontrollably, and vainly, I shut my eyes.  
  
'Be a dream.' I pleaded, 'Please oh please, let this all just be a terrible dream. Let me wake up in my own home and let everything go back to normal.'  
  
I was afraid to try the 'pinch yourself' trick, because if nothing happened, I would be very disappointed. I could feel the edges of my eyes start to freeze as my half-shed tears hit the icy air. Should I give up? Would I even be able to? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as sound reached my ears. This made me look up, even though I knew I wouldn't see anything.  
  
I was a little relieved to find I wasn't deaf. Not much, but a little.  
  
The sound got louder, even though it was still only a faint whisper on the harsh wind. Was it...crying? My heart leaped. Maybe I wasn't the only one here after all! Maybe I still had hope!  
  
"Leave me alone..." The voice wept, "Please..."  
  
I froze.  
  
....no not literally....not yet at least.  
  
Did I...recognize that voice? Hadn't I heard it once before? It was too soft for me to be sure, but what I was sure of, was that it was the sound of a girl.  
  
A young girl, no older then five.  
  
A girl that sounded almost like.... my sister.  
  
But, that couldn't be possible. My sister was long dead, how could she be the one I heard. I shook the thoughts from my head, convincing myself that the cold had gotten to me.  
  
but still....  
  
Using ever ounce of strength still inside of me, I blindly pulled myself up off the ground.  
  
"Is there anyone there?" I called.  
  
She didn't answer me, but the crying didn't stop. Maybe she was hurt, or lost, or dying. I needed to get to her and help in any way I could, and maybe she knew something useful about where I was.  
  
I followed the distant sobbing of the young girl. My feet were numb in the first few steps, and my nose was running uncontrollably, but I didn't stop. Besides, better to freeze to death trying to help something then to freeze wallowing in your own self pity. For some reason, that thought alone seemed to make the biting winds a little gentler.  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
This time, it wasn't my voice which had spoken, but instead, the voice of the little girl. It was light and soft, even though you could hear the tears being choked back in her words. I bent down, letting my knees fall deep into the snow so I could put my hands out and feel for her. She winced as I touched her face, soft skin icy cold and coated with previously shed tears.  
  
"I came to help you." I told her gently.  
  
She started to cry again, "You can't help me. No one can help me."  
  
I felt a tremendous shake as she pulled away from me and began to sob again. Persistently, I stroked her hair in an effort to calm the tiny girl.  
  
"It's alright," I said quietly, "I'm here. I'm sure I can help with something. Are you lost?"  
  
I felt her shake her head, no.  
  
"Hurt?"  
  
Again, she shook her head.  
  
"Then why are you crying?"  
  
She took a deep, shaking breath, and said, "I don't know where I am."  
  
"So you're lost?"  
  
She shook her head vigorously, "No. I don't know where I am, but I'm not lost."  
  
"I don't understand," I said.  
  
"I know where I am." She explained, "I'm in the alone in the dark and cold, at the mercy of the wind and ice, just like,"  
  
She paused, looking up at me, "Like a prisoner. Just like you."  
  
This caught me completely off guard. Defensively I said, "How do you know about me?"  
  
She got up a little off the ground.  
  
"We are very similar you know," She said, having suddenly lost her will to cry, "We are both abandoned into the cold, are we not? We are both under the mercy of another, whether it be the wind...or a spirit."  
  
Everything around me seemed to eerily shift. The wind was stronger now, and the ice was colder then before. I covered my own arms to keep warm, offended by the girl for pre judging me..  
  
"We both seem helpless on the outside," She continued, "Soft and innocent. Everyone always wants to come to our rescue; but we know better. It wouldn't take much to betray our loyalty, and if they did betray us, punishment would only be fair, would it not? I can sense you find it much easier to kill then you play off, Ryou."  
  
Unwanted images of the Tupok flashed before my eyes. Of the dagger sinking deeper and deeper into his flesh and the blood gushing out onto my hands. I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head free of the terrible sight.  
  
"It's not true!" I objected.  
  
"Is it now?" The voice hissed, "You know it's true, you just don't want to admit it."  
  
"That's not it."  
  
"Ah ha..." She said, "You don't seem to be so firm on your opinions. Are those doubts in your tone?"  
  
Again, images began to form in my mind. Pictures of my first day at a Japanese school, of my times at home, of a typical day with my friends, just normal scenes from my life.  
  
"You see?" The girl whispered in my ear, "You always appear the same. The perfect little British boy, quiet, shy, polite, composed, respectful, charming... You never express your true self. Are you afraid of what other people might think?"  
  
I kept myself completely quiet, truly speechless.  
  
"Or maybe, what your father might think?"  
  
I felt a cold gust of wind swerve around me, and I was hoping that it might help hide my sudden tenseness that flew through my body at top speeds. But judging by that cackle from the girl, I hadn't hidden it very well.  
  
"Struck a chord, have I?" She laughed, "Is that the truth then? But wait...I think there is more."  
  
The quick vision of my Yami began to form in my mind, but I rapidly shook it away. I felt a weird sensation in me when I did that, though, which made me suspicious. Maybe it was her...was it her that was breaking into my memories?  
  
"You're terrified of doing something wrong." She informed me, "Terrified of letting people down. And you think you can prevent that from happening by not becoming close enough to anything. By not showing your true self, there isn't a way that any true part of you can get hurt. Is that right?"  
  
"That's not true!" I snapped, getting angry at her attempts to lock into me, "You don't know who I am at all!"  
  
"Oh?" She said with sarcastic innocence, "I think I do."  
  
I felt her touch my shoulder and whisper into my ear in an almost seductive manner, though the message she delivered wasn't at all like that.  
  
"I don't think I'm lost anymore, Ryou." She said.  
  
-* Yugi *-  
  
......  
  
The first thing I felt was warmth. Bright, warmth licking my face and gently waking me from my sleep. My eyes cracked open enough to see the red flashing numbers on my alarm clock looking back at me. However, I didn't realize what I was seeing until a little later. Still half asleep, I rolled over and pulled myself up from the soft sheets and pillows. Then I sat there, letting everything in my mind sink in before I could begin the day.  
  
....letting everything sink in...  
  
...absolutely everything...  
  
My eyes grew about four sizes larger as I leapt to my feet and stared around me in complete shock. This was MY room! My bed, my walls, my things, my clothes, everything. It was MINE, I was in MY home! There came a knocking on the door, and it opened slowly with the same annoying creak as it always did.  
  
But for some reason today, I loved that creak. I loved it more then anything in the world.  
  
I spun around smiling. Knowing that I would be met with the cheerful face of my Grampa. Planning to call Ryou and Caitlin to make sure they got home alright like I did. Just waiting for the day to start in complete glee. But all that happiness shattered into about a million pieces when I saw who was at the door.  
  
And it wasn't Grampa.  
  
In fact, it was a woman. But not just any woman, an 18 year old woman dressed in just her bra and underwear.  
  
I toppled over onto the bed and screamed, "OH MY LORD!"  
  
She jumped at my reaction, wearing an expression of complete confusion. She backed up a step before asking shakily, "What's the matter?"  
  
I could only twitch, a stunned silence over coming me as she waited for an answer. But she would never get one, for I honestly couldn't answer in a way that wouldn't confuse her and/or me even more. When I didn't answer, she arched an eyebrow at me and leaned back.  
  
"HONEY?" She called.  
  
I could hear footsteps on the hard wood floor.  
  
"What?" A voice answered.  
  
My eyes met those of another person as they came to the door. Again, I couldn't help myself, I screamed and fell back onto the bed clinging to the covers for dear life. The man gave me a look most like the girl had before.  
  
But it wasn't just any man, this man was...my yami.  
  
"What's up with him?" He murmured to the girl.  
  
She shrugged and whispered something to him that I couldn't hear. Yami nodded, and then turned back to me.  
  
"You'd better get dressed," He instructed, "Aren't you supposed to be at work in an hour? You don't want to get fired again."  
  
I felt my jaw drop. What the heck was going on here? Yami was wearing something that resembled a business shirt and tie, but maybe even a little more formal then that. The woman whispered something to him again, and Yami smiled and nodded. She started to leave, but then he leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. Something just simple enough to shock the crap out of me.  
  
"Well?" He said impatiently, "Get moving. I'm not always going to pay the rent for you. That was a one time deal."  
  
It took all I could to say anything, so I just nodded and mumbled, "Yeah...sure..."  
  
He smiled...sort of, and closed the door. I just sunk into the bed, and glanced at the mirror on the wall to my left. What I saw scared me a little bit, but I had already been scared so many times all I could do was sigh deeply and cover my eyes with my hand. I looked about nine years older then I looked when I saw myself last, and almost disturbingly like Yami. Groaning, I turned over and let myself calm down for a moment.  
  
Why does my life always have to be so complicated?  
  
~* Bryac *~  
  
I hissed softly through my teeth as another gust of sand came swiftly at me. As much as I tried to prevent it, it felt like glass and almost pulled off my skin as it passed. The sun beat threateningly above me, and it almost reflected against the white desert sand that I was forced to walk through.  
  
"Shit..." I muttered.  
  
I had been walking for what seemed like hours and the scenery never changed. I never knew if I was getting closer or not, or what direction to go in, or when sundown would come. However, I did know what was in front of me, and it was definitely not a good thing. I bent down and clutched the leather bag in front of me. It had been filled with water a while back, but when it emptied I had thrown it down so I had less to deal with.  
  
And yet, there it was. Covered in sand, but still visible under the unforgiving sunlight. A small rip in the bag confirmed my assumption, and I cursed many times.  
  
It was a stab in my heart. I thought I had made at least SOME progress, and here I found that the whole thing was a giant circle! Had I gone the wrong way? I could have sworn I'd gone forward the entire time, following the sun as it--  
  
I stopped, and turned my face upward.  
  
Why hasn't the sun moved at all?  
  
I pushed my hand into the dry sand to push myself up when I felt something hard under my grip. It wasn't the empty bag of water that I was sure of. It felt almost like...metal. I pushed another hand down, feeling around in the sand for another bar, and found it.  
  
Two bars in the sand.  
  
No, three bars.  
  
Four now, but there were more.  
  
Curiously, I started to dig. Sure enough, a hard lash of sun bounced back from the silver bars and stung my eyes for a moment, but no longer. I was dead set on finding out what I had uncovered to care what my body felt. I didn't even mind when another gust of sandy wind blew around me, something that would have made me withdraw before. A smile came across my face as I looked down at what I had uncovered, and then I felt my brows furrow.  
  
Could it be...a cage?  
  
I had dug up enough of the metal contraption, now, so I was able to push my hands underneath two of the bars on either side. With a quick gasp of breath, I started to pull as hard as I could on the bars so I could get the metal thing out. There was a surprising scream of metal, and then the whole thing seemed to pop right out of the ground.  
  
Luckily I had enough sense to let go of it in time. I was dropped to the ground as the whole thing flew into the sky, and then plummet down so close to on top of me it wasn't even funny. I felt it graze against my ear as it landed next to me and sent sand flying in all directions, almost creating the illusion of an explosion. I shielded my eyes from the dust, and then slowly, looked at what was inside of the cage. And what I saw made me gasp.  
  
It was.... me inside there!  
  
-**-**-**-  
  
Retaw- Dun dun DUNNN! OK! So, I think those are pretty good cliffhangers, don't you? *evil face*  
  
Caitlin- *re-reads* Hey, what about me?  
  
Retaw- What about you?  
  
Caitlin- Yeah! Where am I?  
  
Retaw- Don't worry, you're next chapter. In fact, I'm thinking of just having another Dream Realm chapter next instead of a Yami one. Just so I can finish off this little sequence here, what do you think?  
  
ANYWHO! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!  
  
I REALLY NEED THEM, THEY MAKE ME HAPPY AND UPDATE FASTER!  
  
SO REVIEW!  
  
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PLEASE AND THANKYOU!  
  
SUNC! 


	26. The Kein

Retaw- ^^; Um, sorry folks for taking a long time on this chapter too...its getting harder and harder to write this story and have the chapters turn out to my liking. I want everything to be just perfect. So I'm trying not to leave anything out. Anyway, I decided to do the Yami chapter next, so here it is.  
  
And just because I'm nice, I'm gonna give you a review of what happened last! ^-^ Enjoy!  
  
^*^*^*^*^  
  
~ Little sparks of what looked like blue electricity danced around the window dangerously, and even the shine on it seemed sharper. It was...defending itself. But why? Suddenly, there was a high pitched scream.  
  
"I think that was Tea!" Joey exclaimed.  
  
Before we could react, there was the sound of smashing glass, and a single thought rose in my mind.  
  
The window.  
  
Instantly, Joey and I took off running to where we left our friends, and what we saw then, would haunt me for the rest of my life. ~  
  
** YAMI **  
  
Lighting pierced the sky for a fleeting moment, temporarily blinding us as we heard Tea screaming bloody murder. Thunder roared, following the previous blast, as various items crashed to the ground, accompanied by the sound of frantic moving. Then, I heard it.  
  
A gun sounded.  
  
There was only a second of light from the shot, and I felt my insides shake as the horrible sound took flight and stopped only when broken glass came apparent. I cursed my eyes for not being able to adjust to the darkness quickly enough to do anything but stand there and listen.  
  
Tea's screams had evolved now into hysterical sobs, and at last, my eyes could see again. But I wished immediately that they never had.  
  
Tea was sitting helplessly on the floor, tears flowing freely down her face as she wept. Tristen stood over her, one hand holding her neck, the other holding a gun pointed on the side of her head.  
  
"Tristen!" I barked, "What are you doing?!"  
  
A slow smirk slid onto the boy's face, but he said nothing. He roughly jerked Tea's head to the side, which caused her to cry even harder. Instinctively I tried to walk foreword to help her, but in one quick movement Tristen had shot the ground two or three inches away from where I was.  
  
"Don't come any closer." He ordered, pulling the gun back.  
  
Something didn't seem right about him. His voice sounded hollow, not at all like himself. Something was wrong.  
  
"What do you want with us?!" I asked him angrily, "Let Tea go!"  
  
Tristen's lips pulled back into a sneer as he scoffed, "I'm afraid I can't do that."  
  
Another strike of lighting and eruption of thunder interrupted him only for a moment before he continued.  
  
"You see, she may be the only tool I have to get what I want. And you don't expect me to give that up so easily do you? Call it blackmail if you must...a ransom maybe..."  
  
He chuckled, but then his mood because dead serious as he suddenly said in a low tone, "Give me the Kein, or I'll be forced to kill the girl."  
  
I blinked a few times in confusion, "What are you talking about?"  
  
He became angry, and snapped, "Don't play dumb with me! I traced the power source to this building! There is no way it isn't here!"  
  
I opened my mouth to speak, but before any of us could respond there came a sickening screech from the living room.  
  
** CAMI **  
  
I cursed loudly as I tripped over YET ANOTHER box of old junk. Bakura paid me no mind, and just continued walking foreword. To be quite frank, I don't think he likes me very much.  
  
"Bakura?" I hissed, "Why the hell are we in the basement anyway? I've stubbed my toe so many times I think it's gonna fall off soon! I mean it! And if it does, you're paying the doctor bills..."  
  
Again, he completely ignored my ranting. Ok sure, most people do, but this time it was even more annoying then when other people do it. I huffed loudly so he'd notice I wasn't happy, but followed him anyway.  
  
It was pitch black down here, and eerily quiet. Not to mention the heat of summer mixed with the weeks worth of non stop raining made it almost unbearably humid under here. The only light was coming from a slit of a window where the ground was. I was tempted many times to open the stupid thing and let in some air, but then another thought came into my mind.  
  
What if I accidentally forgot it was open, and went to sleep? Then the rain would come in, and no one would remember to come down here and check to make sure the window was closed because I mean, hello? Who goes down into the basement to make sure the window is closed! And it would keep filling up and filling up with water until the whole place was underwater and then someone would FINALLY go down and slip on the stairs and fall into the water and drown. The end.  
  
As you can see, I've given this whole thing a lot of thought. So in conclusion, that is why I will not open the window.  
  
"Do you hear that?"  
  
I jumped, Bakura's voice creeping up on me in the dark.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you hear that?" He repeated, "Or is it just me."  
  
I stopped and listened. I heard rain. I heard thunder. I heard steps from above where Tea, Tristen, Joey and Yami were probably wondering around. But I heard something else too. Something that made me uncomfortable.  
  
I heard sloshing footsteps.  
  
It sounded like someone was walking around outside and stepping in all the right puddles, but doing it very quickly. I turned to the window, thinking that maybe it was open enough for us to hear out of, and almost screamed. I saw a large, almost reptilian foot step into the puddle nearest to the window and stop.  
  
I gasped, and Bakura grabbed me so hard by the arm I think he was cutting off my circulation. Another foot stood by the one, and shifted a little, like the reptile was looking around. And then, it started to run off to the back of the house. Bakura let go of me a little, and the only words I could utter were:  
  
"Holy crap!"  
  
Bakura raised a firm finger over his lips to tell me wordlessly to 'shut up' and then backed up to the stairs.  
  
What's this? The oh so wonderful Bakura was retreating?  
  
"What are you doing?" I whispered, in a voice almost too low to be heard by dogs.  
  
He didn't answer my question, but replied in a voice equally quiet, "Follow me."  
  
I stood there for a moment, still confused and also dreading having to walk back over to the stairs and stub my poor toe again. But Bakura was swiftly out of sight, and being already creeped out, I didn't feel like staying alone and followed him. His movements were quick and silent, and I felt bad clunking along after him and ruining the mood.  
  
On our way through the pitch black house, I spotted a room that seemed to be glowing. Like there was a nightlight in there or something.  
  
"PST!" I tried signaling Bakura, "PSSSST!"  
  
Bakura turned around to me pointing frantically at the room, and raised an eyebrow. Without even saying so much as a 'Good work, Scribe' or 'Come on' he grunted, and started to walk to the light. How rude. To express my feelings, I decided to whisper back at him with a sarcastic comment that I really had no intention of him hearing.  
  
"You're welcome!"  
  
...I was proud of myself. Sarcasm is so much fun.  
  
"Look." He said, walking over to the table in the middle of the living room, "It's giving off light."  
  
I jogged over to him and looked at what he was staring at. Sure enough, that window thingy was glowing like there was a light-bulb behind it. Strange little zaps of light kept issuing from the weird item, but as soon as they touched the table they vanished.  
  
"We have to move it." Bakura told me softly.  
  
There was a brief pause, then Bakura looked at me. Instantly, I knew what he was thinking about.  
  
"Oooooh no." I said shaking my hands, "I am NOT touching it!"  
  
Bakura rolled his eyes, muttered something along the lines of 'coward...' and reached for a small cotton rug on the floor. He cupped the rug in his hands and tried to pick up the window using the fabric as gloves. He had only barely touched the stupid thing, before it caught the fabric around his hands on fire. Cursing, he hastily dropped the fabric on the ground and stepped on it, blowing on his hands to cool them down.  
  
HA! Now who's the coward!  
  
Oh man, now he's pissed. I saw him storm into the attached kitchen and reach for the metal tongs on the counter. (from when we set the popcorn on fire) He then stormed back, and without thinking, start to pick the window up with his tongs.  
  
The reaction was instant. A defining screech sounded through the whole house, the sort of thing you'd hear when you try and touch dry ice with metal, or scrape your nails across a chalkboard. To keep from loosing my hearing entirely, I gripped my ears tightly and shouted at Bakura to let it go.  
  
"I CAN'T!" He yelled.  
  
I looked up, the tongs had MELTED into the window! If Bakura hadn't then dropped the tongs and the mirror onto the ground, his whole hand might have been sucked into it! We could only watch in complete shock as the tongs were melted, and then sucked into the window. It was like, someone was pulling them inside from the other end...  
  
"Don't move." A new voice ordered. "After all, I'm sure you don't want your carpet and walls stained. Blood won't go well with white and pink."  
  
** YAMI **  
  
"What was that?" Tristen said as the screeching died down into oblivion.  
  
I really couldn't answer that. In fact, I was curious myself.  
  
"Not gonna answer?" He said, lowering the gun a tiny bit, "Then I guess we're going to have to all take a little field trip."  
  
Tea whimpered as Tristen started to drag her, gun still pointed, into the living room. Panic struck me fast. The Kein he was talking about must be that window! And if it is, why would they want it so badly? I could tell already, that whatever they wanted it for, could not be a good thing.  
  
"Aren't you coming?"  
  
My eyes rose, only to be met with the familiar face of his pointed gun. He jerked his head, gesturing us to follow him, and I started to think of a way out. What could I go this time? How can I get out of this mess without anyone getting hurt? My gaze lingered to Joey.  
  
He hadn't said a word the entire time. His face held the expression of deep hurt, deep confusion, deep concern, and it never changed. He didn't look back at me, or even at Tristen, just at the ground. What could be going through his head right now?  
  
"Well well well," Tristen's voice cooed, followed by a short click as he readied his gun, "Don't move."  
  
I assumed at first that he was talking to us, but when I focused into the dark lit only by the 'Kein', I could see something that made our chances for survival even bleaker. Cami and Bakura jumped, then froze at the sight of us.  
  
"After all, I'm sure you don't want your carpet and walls stained. Blood won't go well with white and pink." He said with a smile.  
  
"Tristen!" Cami exclaimed, "What are you-- How could you-- Why did-- I--' What's going on here!?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but since I'M the one who holds the gun in this joint, I'M going to be the one asking all the questions. Got that?"  
  
Bakura's fists clenched, and I saw his foot flinch foreword a little. What was he planning?  
  
"You might as well leave." He said the same strange arrogance we know and love.  
  
Tristen stopped for a moment and his gun lowered again slowly, "Why is that?"  
  
That's one thing I must admit, Bakura is the master of. Even in the most hopeless situations, he can always make someone feel like he has the upper hand. Like he knows something you don't, even if he doesn't.  
  
"Well, no one can touch the thing." He said, almost innocently, "How are you ever going to do anything with it?"  
  
Tristen scoffed, "Just because YOU can't touch it, doesn't mean *I* can't touch it!"  
  
Bakura acted interested, "Oh?"  
  
"Of course YOU can't touch it, you're just a pathetic mortal." He continued, and I could almost see the laugh in Bakura's eyes, "Unless you have the same amount of magic that pulses through this Kein pulsing through your own blood, then you can't hope to even touch it."  
  
"And what makes you think you have the right amount?" He inquired.  
  
Suddenly, it hit me. This was my chance.  
  
Tristen growled, "I have had ENOUGH of this! Now hand over the Kein or suffer the consequences!"  
  
Bakura showed no signs of moving. So Tristen then showed his anger by raising the gun away from Tea's head and pointed it at Bakura.  
  
"I'm warning you..." He threatened.  
  
Still Bakura didn't move. His face was expressionless as he glanced quickly at Tea, then at me, then at Tea again, faster then Tristen could even notice. But I noticed. And that's all that mattered.  
  
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Tristen shouted, pulling the trigger on the gun.  
  
I only had one chance. With a leap of faith I lunged foreword hard enough to knock Tea out of Tristen's hands, and also achieved pushing Tristen just enough to send his bullet flying in the wrong direction. I couldn't help the grunt that escaped me as I landed hard on the ground with Tea in my arms.  
  
"You!" Tristen screamed, pointing in shock at Bakura as he shrugged innocently, a smirk playing on his lips, "You're ruining the whole plan!"  
  
Again, Tristen tried to shoot at Bakura, but this time; it was Joey who tackled the boy to the ground.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" He yelled at him.  
  
He struggled, and a sound emerged from his throat that I knew wasn't at all human. Tea sat still on the floor, completely stunned at the sight. Joey started to shake Tristen violently, convinced that he was doing it on his free will.  
  
"GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!"  
  
This was too much for Tristen, his eyes began to glow a sickening red color as he shrieked demonically.  
  
"LET GO OF ME!" He cried, "LET ME GO!"  
  
Joey wouldn't. He held him down by the shoulders, even though the whole situation seemed insane. My eyes fell to the gun still held tightly in his right hand. One finger was snaking it's way to the trigger, gun was pointed and ready to fire when the time was right. I panicked. What was he aiming for?  
  
"I CAN'T DO THAT!" Joey said back, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"  
  
My eyes widened as I saw the action carry out in my mind.  
  
Joey!  
  
He was going to shoot Joey! I struggled to my feet and ran to him.  
  
"LET GO JOEY!" I shouted, "GET AWAY WHILE YOU STILL CAN!"  
  
Joey was surprised by my actions as he looked to me. He wasn't moving. He was never going to move. He was going to stay by his friend no matter what. I had no other choice.  
  
Mind working quickly, I glanced at the Kein next to me on the table. It was my only option now. All I had to do was hope that whatever Tristen was talking about before was wrong. Gritting my teeth in preparation for the pain to come, I reached for it and clutched it in my fist.  
  
The pain was instant. A sharp jolt ran through my body and seemed to burn my very insides. I felt every limb of me shaking because of the new sensation of both burning and shocking me at the same time. It took all that was left in me to move any bit of me an inch, but somehow, I managed the fling the Kein at Tristen.  
  
And managed also, to hit him.  
  
I heard the screams, the bullets, the crashing glass, but my vision was gone. My energy wasted. My body completely useless. I teetered briefly on my feet, gravity and balance being the only thing keeping me up, and now pulling me down.  
  
There was nothing I could do.  
  
Was this...truly the end of me?  
  
~*~ Cami ~*~  
  
In the corner of my eye, I saw Yami pick up and throw the window thing. I was confused. What was he trying to do? My questions were answered as the mirror flew through the air directly at the two fighting teenage boys on the ground. For a moment, I was afraid it would hit Joey. But luckily, that was not the case.  
  
It wasn't a pretty sight. Whatever Tristen was saying before about it not affecting him, must have been completely wrong.  
  
The 'Kein' I guess it's called, struck Tristen in his cheek. Sinking deeply into his skin like a knife as he screamed. Blood gushed from the open wound as Joey, finally, let him go and jumped back. The screams were pained, horrible, inhuman, and would most likely inhabit my nightmares for the rest of my life.  
  
Blood began to spray as Tristen tried to scratch and yank the Kein from his face, and ended up cutting his fingers to numbs.  
  
And then, he began to fire.  
  
He held his gun out and began to blindly fire at all angles. Everyone fell to the ground and covered their heads as random pieces of ceiling raining down on us, accompanied by the occasional shards of glass from pictures on the wall. I thought the bullets would go on forever, until finally.  
  
I heard a dry click.  
  
He was out.  
  
Tristen fell to his knees then, and with a last gasp of air, died on our carpet.  
  
There was silence as everyone stared at the body on the ground, smoke hanging heavily in the air that smelt strangely, like cooked meat. I waited, but no one said anything. Though the same question was hanging on all of our lips.  
  
What do we do now?  
  
Then, there was a cry from Tea as she ran across the room to a dark pile on the ground. What was that? We all got up enough to look closer as Tea started frantically messing with whatever the pile was.  
  
"Tea?" I asked softly.  
  
"It's Yami!" She cried frantically, "I can't get a pulse!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Retaw- MUAHAHAHA! I love cliffhangers, they're so much fun. *smile*  
  
I don't really have anything left to say, this chapter was a little shorter then usual, but I've been having a busy life. What with the end of school and everything, schoolwork has been the pits. T_T  
  
REVIEW!! REVIEW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!  
  
Thank you, have a nice day. ^-^ 


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